The Arrow Saga: The Tale of the Wanderer
by t.j.guard
Summary: Baelfire's journey to his father has only just begun, and he has a long way to go yet, but even when he does arrive at his destination, he learns the hard way that the old saying is true: It's not over till the fat lady sings.
1. The Turns Events Take

The Arrow Saga: The Tale of the Wanderer

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time.

The Turns Events Take

Bae and Morraine took a few steps back, but the cloud remained stationary. "Well, this is unusual," John said behind them. Startled, they both turned to face him.

"How much did you see?" Bae asked impulsively.

"Plenty, but as long as you're in the Barrier, you should be fine."

"That Barrier's not going to hold for much longer. When was the last time you had it cast?"

John shrugged. "Thirty years ago?"

Bae nodded and turned back to the cloud hovering over Robin Hood's limp form. "Rather interesting turn of events, yes?"

"You could say that."

"I think we all could," Morraine said.

"Get back to the Greenwood," John said, pulling the two teenagers behind him. They scrambled over their feet and the forest floor before regaining their footing and obeying his order, albeit slowly and watching John's every move. He'd drawn a dagger and was now merely watching the cloud. Bae and Morraine ducked behind a tree and peered around it. She turned to him and nodded, and he nocked an arrow.

John dared to inch closer to the cloud, which had stilled its movements within itself. "Gisborne," he whispered, not escaping the hearing of the two teenagers behind the tree.

The cloud condensed suddenly and flashed into the form of a man in light silver armor but with cloudy black eyes. "So you've heard of me," he said, stepping off of Robin Hood's body. The archer hardly seemed to notice. "So why haven't I heard of you? I lead a quiet life. How can my reputation precede me?"

"Let's just say I know someone who's heard of you, and therefore, so have I."

"By association, then. Who is among our mutual friends?"

"How about our mutual enemies? Robin Hood, for instance? Or how about an enemy of mine that was a friend of yours? Nottingham, I believe his name was."

"How is the good sheriff?"

"Not well, I'm afraid. Not that you've had much time to notice."

Gisborne looked over his shoulder at where the Sheriff lay. "Oh, a pity that," he said, looking back at John. It took all the latter had to repress his surprise at Gisborne's reaction. "It's a shame no one can know about this." Gisborne conjured a dagger to match John's and lunged at him.

OUAT

August flipped his hood down and tossed the room key into the bowl on the table next to the door. He noticed a draft and looked at the window, which had apparently been unlocked while he was out. Standing in front of the window was a red-headed boy that had to be somewhere around ten and in a lot of ways reminded August of his younger self. "Who are you?" he asked. "And if you say you're me I'll call the cops."

"Cops?" the boy asked.

"Adults whose job it is to enforce the law."

"Oh. Then in that case I'm not you."

"What're you doing here, Not Me?"

"I need help. I'm stuck in a strange land and I'm afraid if I try to leave this town something bad will happen to me. I lost two traveling companions along the way and I have a feeling if I find them the Dark One will be really happy with me, and if I don't find them, he'll kill me."

"Well, you've got the politics down." Something flashed in the boy's eyes. "Okay," he said, shrugging his jacket off and tossing it onto the bed. "You need help finding who you traveled here with?" The boy nodded. "How'd you do it?"

"I made the tunnel myself."

"So you're fey?"

"I guess so."

"And what happened en route?"

"There was something dark trying to pull us apart, and there was something else, trying to do the same. Also dark, but not as bad as the first thing."

"And you ended up here."

"No, I wanted to come here, or they did."

"So of the three of you, you're the only one that reached your destination." The boy nodded again, and August sat on the bed. "What made you come here?"

"The guy with the hat scared me."

"He scares a lot of people."

"But he said you might know someone who could help me."

"Well, I might, but travel's a lot easier than finding someone. Even she thinks so."

"Who's she?"

"This person Jefferson knows I know. She lives in Kansas, and only a handful of us folks in Storybrooke can leave without something bad happening to us."

"Are you one of them?"

"Yes. And I'd be really happy to get out into the real world again. Okay, I'll tell you what. I'll recruit her to the cause, and I'll let you stay here, even, if you hold the fort while I'm gone. Don't let anybody know I'm not here, if they ask, and make sure all my stuff is taken care of. I'll leave the exact rent in a drawer to which I'll give you the key. You're not to use it for anything else. Understand?" Peter nodded. "Can you do all that?"

"I...I think so."

August nodded. "Okay. There's a sleeping bag in the closet for you to use."

"...Thanks."

"Sure, kid."

"It's Peter."

"August." They shook hands, and Peter's eyes widened. "It's the wood, isn't it."

"It's weird."

"That's why I don't go out much anymore."

"Can you fix it?"

"I haven't been able to investigate that yet." Peter nodded, and already an idea started to germinate in his mind.


	2. The Jumper

The Jumper

During the knife fight that ensued between John and Gisborne, Bae focused on Gisborne and tried to assess his particular magical strengths and weaknesses. He felt similar to the Sheriff, of that Bae was fairly sure, but beyond that, he honestly had no idea. He pursed his lips and continued to watch John and Gisborne. If this got ugly, he had to be among the first to know.

Finally, they reached a stalemate, and Bae took aim directly at Gisborne's head. Gisborne turned into a cloud of dust just as the arrow was due to make contact, and it thunked into a tree. John stumbled forward and looked around. "I thought I told you to run," he said to Bae as the latter stepped out from behind the tree to retrieve his arrow.

Bae slipped the arrow into his quiver and looked at Robin's body. "We'd better take him with us," he said.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"If anyone can fight someone like that, it's me. I should be asking you what _you_ were thinking."

John raised his fist to backhand Bae across the head when Morraine's voice rang out. "Stop," she said, stepping out from behind the tree and holding the sword parallel to the ground. John lowered his hand and turned toward her. "I was charged with keeping him," she said. "Don't risk both of our lives."

"Who charged you?" John asked.

"His name is Rumpelstiltskin."

Bae gasped. "There it is again."

"There's what?" they both asked him.

"It's gone now. I felt another thread. Rumpelstiltskin and I used to communicate this way for a brief while, before I found myself here. Someone in Storybrooke is making efforts to reach us."

OUAT

Pinocchio was a teenager and had chosen the name August Wayne Booth when he had just rode his thumb into the middle of Kansas. He was starving, and for two hours he hadn't seen a car for miles, so he picked a direction and started walking.

Kansas, or at least this part of it, was exactly as everyone said it would be: nothing but prairie as far as the eye could see. It really was somewhat of a shock to him to see a farm house out here, so far away from anywhere and anyone, but he started toward it, anyway, hoping it hadn't been abandoned for very long.

A great dog began to bark and growl at him, and a woman stepped onto the porch, rifle aimed squarely between his eyes. "Who are you?" she demanded. The Boy Who Lied was suddenly compelled to tell the truth. In a rush, he blurted out his entire life story, after which the woman turned to the dog and said, "Toto, stop." The dog backed down.

"Are...are you Dorothy?" he asked.

"D," she replied, resting the gun on her shoulder. "Hate to break it to you, but the stories you've heard are probably wrong."

"Yeah, I figured as much."

"Okay," she said after a moment. "Come in. You look like you could use a place to stay for a while."

"Thanks."

OUAT

D was now one of August's few good friends and the only person he knew who could help with Peter's predicament, and that of his traveling companions, wherever and whenever they were.

He turned onto yet another side street and glanced over his shoulder at the horizon. It was still dark, and the roads were still relatively deserted. So far, he carried no risk of anyone finding out his dirty little secret, anyone he didn't want to, at least. Anyone that didn't already know, and so far that was only a few people, those that comprised D's network of realm jumpers. He knew they could keep a secret. That was how the world didn't completely flip out over the idea of magic definitively existing and there being other realms and the land of Faerie existing and whatnot.

The thought was somewhat of a comfort to him, and with it in mind, he turned a corner.


	3. The Cases

The Cases

John and Bae lowered the still-unconscious Robin onto the grass before the Greenwood Tree. Morraine scanned their surroundings but found nothing out of place, and once she was sure she could, she asked, "So, who is this Merlin gentleman that he mentioned?"

"Another wizard," John replied, "Very much like the one we know."

"Has our wizard ever given his name? I know Bae knows his face."

John looked at Bae, who nodded in confirmation, and then turned back to Morraine. "No, he hasn't. In his land, names are powerful."

"They are here, too, at least, as far as magic is concerned," Bae said.

"And in all honesty the same can be said for politics. If you have the right name and blood, you can get nearly anything you want."

"Sounds like home," Morraine said with a smile. "Bet you can do anything you want, too."

"In essence."

"Merlin is supposedly trapped," Bae said carefully. "According to Robin he's in a cave on the west coast."

"We'll have to wait for him to wake up and confirm his story," John replied, "but at least there were several witnesses to this event."

"So you don't trust him, either."

"Do you have a good reason why I should?"

"Sadly, no."

"Then we're all of one accord."

"Indeed we are."

"Now that that's settled," Morraine said, "we have more practical matters to deal with, or rather, just one: Gisborne."

"I'm glad you brought him up," John said.

OUAT

D snapped the rifle barrel closed and lay it against the table, letting the rag she was using fall to the table. It had been a long time since she heard that motorcycle, and she knew exactly who was riding it. She walked onto the porch and leaned against the door frame, arms folded, as August parked the bike and removed his helmet. "Let me guess," she said. "You haven't been a good boy."

"I'm afraid not," August replied. "I'm here on behalf of someone else, though. His name's Peter, and he says he lost his travel companions somewhere between the Enchanted Forest and here."

"That could be damn near anywhere."

"Exactly. I hope you don't mind my asking you for help."

"Actually, I don't, but I don't know this Peter kid from a hole in the wall. How do I know he didn't lie to you?"

"You don't."

"Do you?"

"I'm relatively certain."

"Relatively certain?"

"I'm not completely sure, but being a liar myself, I kind of know what to look for."

"And you don't think he's a liar."

"I think something about him is a little off, but I don't think it's that."

D nodded. "You still got the spare helmet?"

"Yeah."

He passed the helmet to her, and she mounted the bike behind him. "Let's go check this case out." August nodded and turned back to the road.

OUAT

Zoso had watched these developments play out just as he watched his mentor's relationship with the Water Witch unfold. They both moved like dramas, though he was certain they would have very different results.

After all, he already knew how the witch's story played out.


	4. The Players

The Players

Merlin had taken Zoso in shortly after the latter's death in the Enchanted Forest and subsequent assignment by fate to this world at this time, and it wasn't long after that before the two of them met the Water Witch in search of a pure spring. She had floated out of the water like a siren, which was perhaps part of why he'd been so wary where Merlin had been attracted to the woman in the sheer white dress with the wet hair clinging to her neck and shoulders.

While Zoso learned from Merlin, he also learned from the Witch, albeit as indirectly as possible, and as time passed, it became increasingly apparent to him that she meant nothing but trouble. A desperate man wasn't the only type he could easily recognize.

OUAT

Bae and John kept watch over Robin that night while Morraine went scouting for any Merry Men that either stayed in hiding places or didn't get very far. The sun had set, leaving behind only a soft trail of light and a sky that started to speckle over with stars. "Is he going to wake up?" Bae asked.

"I hope so," John replied.

"How do we know he's not already dead?"

"Once someone's been dead for a while, you start to smell it." Bae nodded. "Take it you have an idea of what I'm talking about."

"That's something I don't discuss."

"Fair enough. Lad as young as yourself shouldn't be terribly familiar with death, let alone seen it. Time for that doesn't come until later."

"I guess that's a matter of perspective."

"You truly are a strange lad."

"I come from a strange land."

"So I've been told."

Robin stirred, and both looked at him. "Sweet relief," Bae muttered. "Sweet, sweet relief." His eyes fluttered open.

"Boy," Robin rasped. "Is it over?"

"Gisborne escaped."

"Can you feel him?" Bae shook his head. Robin looked at John. "Did they run?" John nodded. "Good, good. What happened to me? Do you know?"

"Gisborne attacked you," John said. "Knocked you clean out."

"The darkness just can't leave you alone," Bae added.

"That means we have to get to your Storybrooke as fast as possible," Robin said. "At least there, the darkness won't be able to touch me. Not if we leave in secret. Help me up." Bae looked at John, who nodded, and they both helped him into a sitting position.

Morraine emerged from the forest. "It's clear," she said. "Only Alan and Will." She gestured to the men behind her. "He's well, I see."

"And in a hurry," Bae replied. "According to him, we have to get to Storybrooke as fast as possible." His eye said far more than his voice.

"Which means the faster we find Merlin's cave, the better."

OUAT

While D rode on the motorcycle she once sold to August for five hundred bucks and a big bag of dog food, her phone rang. "Hello?" she asked.

"It's me," the man on the other end of the line said.

"Whatever your problem is, I don't have time for it."

"This town I heard about..."

"No. Hell no. Ef no."

"She's serious now," August said, though he couldn't suppress his smile.

"Listen. It can solve all of our problems. It can put your network on the map. If we can find it and prove it-"

"Shut up. The network's not supposed to be on the map. That's not how we work. Got it?"

"Do you? Someday I'm going to see something no one will believe. Someday, I'm gonna prove magic is real. We'll be rich. We'll be famous. You can move back to civilization."

"This isn't about wealth, or power. This is about helping people, Greg. This is about giving people some familiarity in a strange land and helping them get home again, or whatever they need. This was never about us. Get that through your thick skull, and get rid of this silly notion about proving to the world what we already know. And one more thing. Call me again with these silly notions and I'll call the goddamned cops." She snapped her phone shut.

"Wow," August said, whistling.

"You have no idea how I hate that guy."

"I think I have a clue."

"Good. Maybe you can learn from it."

"I don't want your gun or your dog after me." D nodded. If only Greg could think like that.

OUAT

"Are you sure he should travel?" Alan asked, taking in Robin's appearance.

"We don't have a choice," Robin snapped. "Load me into a cart if you have to. We have to leave now. We have to get to Storybrooke and get away from the evil. It still influences me here."

Morraine turned to Alan and Will, and she nodded. Alan looked at Will, who also nodded, and he said, "Okay. We have to get going, then." He helped Will and John support Robin.

"West," John said, and they started west.


	5. Ambush

Ambush

Peter lay on the bed, hands folded under his head, and tapped his foot out to a tune he whistled to himself. The Blue Fairy had sensed his presence, he was sure of it, and she was drifting over to him. She was intrigued, possibly a little worried, and somehow, her interest worried Peter greatly and excited Pan.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on his whistling. If he could do that and not think about anything else, he would be fine. All he had to do was watch the apartment. Nothing else. Everything would take care of itself.

OUAT

"So who's Greg?" August asked, emptying the gas can into the tank, replacing the lid, and shoving it back into his saddlebag.

"Greg," D replied, leaning back as August mounted again, "is a lunatic. He's a civ, but he's married to one of us, and that's how he knows. Ever since he learned magic existed and there were other worlds, he's been obsessed with proving it to the world. He says he's gonna make us all rich, but I think he's just in it for himself. I think if he finds the proof he wants, he'll freak out and crash or something."

"If he does?"

"Then I'm gonna sit there and laugh my ass off, or I'm gonna hunt his grave down and laugh my ass off there. That son of a bitch is in dire need of an I-told-you-so." She had to raise her voice to be heard, as they were on the road again.

"Wow, you really do hate that guy."

"He's a threat, and even if he wasn't, he's a douchebag."

"So what do we do if he gets to town?"

"Tell Jefferson to get the word out. All of us have to be on high alert. Does Storybrooke have a sheriff, someone we can talk to and explain the situation to?"

"Emma Swan and her parents, Snow White and Prince Charming. I'm pretty sure they'll understand, maybe be grateful for the help."

"It's the least I can do for inadvertently causing trouble."

"Let's hope it doesn't get very far, then." August turned a corner and started to head north. "Maine, here we come."

OUAT

By the second day of the journey, Robin was walking under his own power, allowing Bae and Morraine to trail behind and check to see if anyone was following the party. He had his suspicions by midday, but he was absolutely sure by mid afternoon. He slid an arrow out of one of the quivers on his hip, nocked it, and nodded to Morraine, who unsheathed her sword. "Trouble afoot?" John asked.

"I think so," Bae replied. The party stopped. Bae turned to face the path they just trod, but before any action could be taken, he had to shield his face from the onrushing black cloud. Oh, not again, he thought, struggling to gather his thoughts enough to push the cloud away enough for them to breathe. Finally he succeeded.

He drew the arrow back and began searching the cloud for its source and center. "What is this?" he asked.

"Gisborne," John said.

"Careful with that arrow, boy," Robin added. "Wrong shot and we're all dead."

"It would help if I knew where to aim," Bae replied, starting to relax his draw.

"Oh, look," the cloud said. "You can't be bothered." Gisborne stepped out of the shadows and approached them. Robin stepped back, but Bae stood fast. "It looks like you're stupid, too. A village boy. Poor, can't read or write, perhaps forced to work the fields for a liege lord. No wonder you're on the run with these outlaws and..." His eyes drifted to Morraine. "Well, well, well, it seems even the likes of you can still manage to find a fair lass."

"That's it," Morraine growled, lunging at him. He disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared a few feet away.

"You have spirit. I may have a use for you." Bae aimed again and loosed. Again, Gisborne disappeared in a puff of smoke, but this time, once he was clear of the arrow, he reappeared where he stood. "Some nerve you have. Do you know what happens to peasants who have nerve?"

"Stand down now, boy," Robin said.

"He's right." Gisborne raised a hand flicked his wrist at Bae. Robin pulled Bae back by the collar, and the tendrils of smoke curling from Gisborne's wrist snaked around them.

"On three, we push him back," Bae whispered to Robin.

"Are you sure about this?" Robin replied. Bae nodded. "Alright, let's do it."

"Three." Together, Bae and Robin summoned their energy and with everything in them rejected Gisborne's magic. The smoke swirled at the edge of an ever-expanding bubble around them, and they straightened and stepped back. Gisborne had stumbled back and was watching them both, mouthing, "How?" Bae glanced over his shoulder to find that Alan and Will had both split, headed west. John was clearly tempted to follow. Bae and Robin nodded, and he, too, was off. Bae pushed Robin after him and looked at Gisborne before taking off with him, Gisborne in hot pursuit.

"Well, this is just great," Will said to Alan.

"Just shut up and run," Alan said.

Bae started to turn to face Gisborne when Robin stopped him. "Keep going," he said. "We can't stop, not now. We have to keep running."

"Does it much matter?" Bae replied. "He's following us, anyway."

"If we stop we give him an opportunity. Don't give the enemy an opportunity you can't afford." Bae nodded, but he kept tabs on Gisborne as they ran. "Not much farther now, boy."

"Call me Bae."

Robin nodded. "Well, then. Bae."

The smoke came again.


	6. Gerhardt

Gerhardt

Gerhardt slumped against a tree and wiped the sweat from his brow. His nice white uniform was now dirty, drenched, and torn so that now it was hanging on his green, stitched, filthy form in tatters. He sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Victor was the only one who ever believed in him, and now he was gone, claimed by the Blackness. He sensed its evil in his core, and he knew this land had nothing like it. It claimed his brother but left everything else, and it left him a prisoner in an abandoned castle, craving human contact but finding only pitchforks and torches upon his escape, so it was no wonder he chose to name it the Blackness.

It was also no wonder that he fled into the forest and talked only to himself and what animals that wouldn't look at him crossways, though he learned very quickly that that meant they thought he was a meal. He'd gotten lost running from them so many times he gave up on keeping track of where he was. Now he wandered aimlessly, without home, family, prospects, or fortune, with only most of his former command of speech, and constantly haunted by the fact that he was a monster who killed his own father, regardless of his reasons. But he just wanted to protect his brother, whom he had supported when their father did not. Victor brought him back because of his work, his work that no one else believed in.

Now Gerhardt was alone in the world.

OUAT

Victor used to visit him nightly, and nightly Gerhardt would try to form sentences for him, or perform some other small feat to prove himself. Victor was encouraging, but Gerhardt sensed a blend of guilt and disappointment emanating from him. He was most likely asking himself how he could have made such a terrible mistake. So Gerhardt threw himself into his exercises in an effort to convince Victor that he wasn't a mistake, that he could still be good, human.

Then one day Gerhardt felt something utterly foreign and evil. It woke him from sleep, actually, and he knew at once he had to get to his brother. Quickly he burst out of his cell, and he took the stairs two, sometimes three, at a time. He threw open the door to the foyer, and the windows shattered. He had just enough time to see Victor on the other side of the room before he had to shield his face with his arm. Victor screamed his name over the howling of the wind. "Victor! Victor!" Gerhardt yelled.

"Get back inside," Victor replied. Gerhardt could have sworn he heard something else, but the words were lost, and even if they weren't, he disobeyed his brother anyway and began working on a way to get closer to him.

The door with its massive wrought-iron hinges was torn out of the wall and sent flying, striking Gerhardt in the shoulder and sending him sliding, unconscious, into the wall. "Gerhardt," Victor screamed, noting by the scratchiness he heard that he was starting to lose his voice. The wind had started to stir in rocks the size of his fingernails and bigger, which he admittedly minded more than the dust and sand, but he stumbled over to his unconscious brother nonetheless. He shoved the door aside to the best of his ability and rolled Gerhardt over to examine him, knowing full well he couldn't, let alone shouldn't, do so in this weather. Gerhardt groaned and shifted, and his eyes fluttered open. "Listen to me, listen to me. You have to go back to the cell. You'll be safe there."

"No," Gerhardt whispered. He chanted the same word over and over, increasing in volume, as he stood, until finally he was screaming at his brother and pushing him back. He took a deep breath and said shortly, "No. Not leaving."

Victor lay his hands on Gerhardt's shoulders. "Please, Gerhardt. Please." Gerhardt shook his head.

The wind kicked up again, and Gerhardt pulled Victor to the floor as pieces of the facade broke off and swirled with the rest of the debris as they sailed into the foyer.

Then came what Gerhardt would dub the Blackness. It rode the wind into the castle as the latter was being reduced to a ruin, and when Gerhardt looked up, what he saw was a great storm cloud, thundering within itself as it rolled toward them. He turned away and huddled closer to his brother as the cloud swept over them.

Normally, Gerhardt hardly felt anything-that was his new normal, at least-but when the Blackness touched him, his flesh crawled over his bones. He wanted desperately to get away from it, but he couldn't leave his brother, and it surrounded them both. He was trapped. They were trapped.

Finally the Blackness rolled away, and Gerhardt sank to the floor. He instantly pushed himself up and felt the stones beneath him, convinced his eyes were lying through their teeth. But he felt nothing just as plainly as he saw nothing. The Blackness and the storm it rode in on stole Victor right out from under him.

He, as a brother, had failed.

He got to his feet and staggered over to the gaping hole the storm left in Victor's castle, and he screamed himself hoarse.

OUAT

That night, he woke the wrong village's mayor. As a consequence, he was run out with pitchforks and torches, and from that night to this, his wandering has never ended.

OUAT

Robin pushed Bae forward. "Keep going west," he ordered. "You'll know the cave when you feel it."

"Are you out of your mind?" Bae asked.

"You're out of yours," Morraine shot back, grabbing Bae by the sleeve and pulling him back. Robin drew an arrow and took a deep breath before firing into the cloud. It opened a hole just long enough to allow the arrow to sail right through it before closing up again.

"We're all mad here, it seems," said the wizard.


	7. Crash Landing

Crash Landing

"Oh, that's just great," Morraine snapped, throwing up her hands and turning away from the crowd. "Who the hell are you, and what right do you have to show up here at a time like this?"

"It looks to me like you need a little help," the wizard replied.

"No," Bae and Morraine said at the same time.

"All magic comes with a price," Bae said. "Don't you dare convince me otherwise."

"Not trying to," the wizard said, "but I won't ask anything for this."

"You mean you can get us out of here?" Alan asked.

"Can Merlin? He's trapped in a crystal deep in the earth under our feet, and any desperate, half-baked scheme to free him," he looked pointedly at Robin, "is destined to fail. Now do you want my help or not?"

"Do we have any other options?" Will asked the party at large, but he looked at Gisborne, who had recovered himself and was working on regaining his energy for another attack.

"Scarlet's right," John said. "We either trust the wizard or we die out here today, where no one will ever find our bodies."

"Alright," Morraine said. Bae stepped between them and Gisborne and kept his magic from touching them. The wizard and the other members of the party began to form a knot, and he stepped back so that he could join them, desperately hoping this time it would go right.

He felt the tip of an arrow on the back of his neck. "I suggest you stay where you are," Robin said.

"You knew," Bae replied. "You knew eventually we'd walk into a trap, and you led us here for that very reason."

"Little John was right, after all. You die out here, no one will ever find your bodies." Morraine unsheathed the sword and pressed the blade to Robin's neck. "Oh, how sweet, you're going to protect your lover. I think I heard a minstrel sing about this once, but I'm afraid you've got it backwards."

"No, I don't," Morraine said coldly. "Here are your options: put down your weapon, leave us your second quiver, and run, or stay here and face death. And I'll have you know I'm not in the mood for the womanly virtue of patience, so don't take forever making up your mind."

"How about a third option?" Robin turned to the party, took aim, and fired.

John ducked and drew his dagger. "If you're going to go, do it now," he said as Robin lunged for him and he sank into a defensive stance.

Morraine pulled Bae back toward the party and turned to the wizard. "If you're going to do anything, now's the time," she said. "We can't stand here all day and let them kill us."

"Hold tight to your skirts, lass," the wizard said, "because it's going to be a wild ride." He held out his arms, and the wind picked up. Bae gasped and gripped Morraine's shoulder. He stood again and looked at Will and Alan.

"Come with us," he said. "You're not safe here." They looked at each other but were otherwise motionless. He looked at John, who'd managed to wound Robin and was inching toward them.

"Get ready to leave," John said. This set Will and Alan moving toward them. Morraine supported Bae as he turned to face a confused and enraged Robin and a Gisborne who was wont to assess the situation. They dropped through the ground shortly thereafter, and Bae was beginning to lose himself to a magic haze, but not before he sensed Robin and Gisborne diving in after them.

OUAT

Zoso now had to make a snap decision, because this situation had, in his mind, just gone from bad to worse. The traitor and his true master were following them, hell-bent on getting what they wanted, which he was sure was all of their heads in baskets before the headsman and his assistant at their block, and he knew at once that Storybrooke had enough problems of its own. It didn't need these two, and he couldn't let them get there, besides. The town was full of the Enchanted Forest's innocents, and some other colorful characters.

He had a strong impression the young sensitive was going to hate him for what he did next, but he did it anyway. He re-routed.

OUAT

August pulled over on the side of the road and removed the helmet to wipe his forehead with his sleeve, an action D realized was reflexive. She dismounted, handed him the helmet, and continued some ways up the road, drawn by the Barrier and the magic it contained. It was enough to make any sensitive claustrophobic.

Someone stood on the side of the road, leaning on a green metal sign that read, "Welcome to Storybrooke," and listed the population and elevation. "Who're you?" she asked. His hook glinted in the moonlight, and she felt stupid for asking the question. "What're you doing here? Tryin' to hitch a ride?"

"Waiting for someone," he replied. She noticed that in his hand, he had a gun.

"Vendetta?"

"Yes."

"Don't waist your time. I knew a couple of witches who had a vendetta against each other and that got them both killed."

"Oh, I think this will do me good."

"That's what they said." D shrugged. "Anyway, learn your lesson on your own time. I think I'll-" A car pulled up, and a man and woman climbed out. The man at the sign tensed, and D looked at all three of them. The man with the cane was old enough to be his companion's father, but that wasn't her business. Her business was that she knew of a plot to kill the former, and it was her moral and civic obligation to stop it.

She slipped off her jacket, tossed it into the bushes, and just as the man she was certain was Captain Hook approached the couple, she grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him toward her, and planted one on him. Startled, he dropped the gun, and she pushed him back. "You're a weird son of a bitch," she said, "but not a bad kisser."

"Rumpel, what's going on?" the woman asked.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out," the older man replied. D released Hook so he could face the new threat of an old man trying to stand over him, his hands starting to glow. It was weird, but impressive.

Headlights attracted D's attention. "Hold off," she said. "Here comes the witch hunter." The older man released Hook and turned to the car, his arm raised and a fireball at the ready. "I said hold off," D shouted, tackling him just as the car reached the line. The car struck her left leg and sent her rolling a couple of times before she came to a rest, but the impact sent the car spinning out of control. It struck the older man's car and a shrub before coming to rest.

The woman ran over to D and the man she called Rumpel and asked, "Are you two alright?"

"I'm fine, Belle," Rumpelstiltskin replied. Belle looked at D, who nodded and tried to get to her feet. Her left leg crumpled under her, and she cried out.

"Here, let me help you." Belle slipped D's arm over her shoulders and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks," she replied, and they turned to check on the car and driver.

Hook scrambled to his feet and plucked the gun off the asphalt. He aimed squarely at Belle and pulled the trigger, but before Rumpelstiltskin could react, he saw the woman who rescued him push Belle aside and hold up her free arm. Purple mist flowed down it and straight for the bullet, turning it around and sending it shooting back to the would-be assassin. Hook turned away, but the bullet embedded itself near his left collarbone.

As he dropped to the ground and tossed the gun away to tend to his wound, the sirens sounded.


	8. Lost Once Again

Lost Once Again

"What is this?" Emma demanded as soon as she set eyes on the stranger. "Who're you?"

"I know August," she said at once. "And the Mad Hatter."

"You mean Jefferson?"

"Yeah. Look, I know this looks pretty bad, but I know it could've been worse. That guy over there with one hand just tried to kill that guy," she gestured to Rumpelstiltskin, "and I'm only involved because I stopped him."

"How?"

"I'm gonna be tasting sea salt and rum for the next week."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, but as I said, it could've been worse. Oh, better take care of the guy in the car, or you'll be toting him out in a body bag before too long."

Emma directed the medics accordingly and looked back at the woman. "How do you know these people, Jefferson and August, and the guy in the car?"

"He's a civilian, but she's married to a jumper."

"Jumper?"

"Portal jumper. We just call ourselves jumpers for short."

"And you are..."

"D. D Gale."

"D as in Dorothy?" D nodded. "Damn, what the hell is going on?"

"Don't ask me," Belle said. "All I know is she has a broken leg and that man has a hole in his chest. And she apparently can do magic."

"I'm a sensitive," D corrected. "I don't have any inherent magical ability whatsoever, but I can use the magic around me for nearly anything. You've got something special here," she added. "Something really special. Be careful who knows about it." Emma nodded.

One of the medics helped D into the back of an ambulance, and for a moment before they closed the doors, she watched for August amid the chaos. He was nowhere to be seen.

OUAT

When Bae awoke, he was struck by how strange his new surroundings felt. He almost didn't have a word for it, having grown up around magic and known it with him his whole life. It felt like something was missing, and he knew exactly what it was.

He pushed himself to his feet and spotted the wizard, standing in his robe, in full color, against the grey background. "Where the hell are we now?" he asked.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" the wizard replied. "A land without magic, and, clearly, color."

"Are we anywhere near Storybrooke?"

"Closer than we were when we faced down those lunatics."

"We're still a world away."

"Yes."

"We're still a world away. I've gone through four realms just to find my father, and you mean to tell me this is the fifth? I may as well be utterly frickin' lost, and I can't believe we trusted you."

"Bae, what are you screaming about?" Morraine asked blearily, and then she, too, gained some awareness of her surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Yet another world where my father isn't," Bae said bitterly, turning away from the wizard. "I'm going to go ask around and try to figure out where we are. You better have a solution by the time I get back." He walked into the grey forest with Morraine and the wizard staring after him.

OUAT

Bae stumbled over the forests and cursed and swore to himself as he made his way over soft ground so that he would be easily tracked in case anything went wrong. So far, he had yet to meet a soul or see any sign of civilization. Finally he stopped on the bank of a river and sank to his knees. Something moved behind him, and he shot to his feet and spun around.

A man in a strange suit that used to be white but was now tattered and filthy stood before him. He couldn't guess the color of the man's skin, but if he had to, he would've said a sickly green with a blend of grey, white, and yellow thrown in. When he walked, he did so with a slight stagger, and when he asked, "Who are you?" he did it with a slight slur, as if he couldn't quite get his mouth to function.

"I..." Then Bae hatched an idea. "I'm Baelfire," he said. "I'm from the Enchanted Forest and I've been traveling from realm to realm in search of my father who dropped me down a hole into the unknown a long time ago. I've been through four other realms now and I'm really getting sick of it and all I want to do is get to Storybrooke, where my father is. I'm sick of the madness and I want it to end. Now, can you please tell me where I am?"

"Somewhere near the German border with the Netherlands," the man said. He swallowed, then added, "Gerhardt Frankenstein."

"Nice to meet you."

Gerhardt nodded. "You...you feel different."

"Different how?"

"You said...Enchanted Forest?"

"Yes."

"Does it always feel like you do?"

"I don't know. I guess I've gotten used to it." Bae paused and asked, "Does it feel like something is missing to you?"

"Missing?"

"Yes."

"I...I know I can feel something, but it's not there. Does...does that make sense?"

"Actually, yes." Bae approached and reached out, and Gerhardt shrank back. "It's okay. I don't want to hurt you." He relaxed a little, and Bae touched his chest. He wasn't surprised to find that Gerhardt was a little cold to the touch, or just slightly sticky and squishy, but he was a little bit surprised to feel the beat of a magical heart under a vertical line of stitches.

His own senses flared to life, and he sensed two distinct presences that he instantly recognized blooming to life in this new world. They'd opened their own door. "Morraine," Bae whispered.

"Ex-excuse me?" Gerhardt asked.

Bae pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry," he said, stepping around Gerhardt and along the path he'd trodden earlier, "but I really need to go." He took off running, and Gerhardt turned and started to follow.


	9. Visitors

Visitors

D leaned against the pillows of his bed and watched August walk into the room. "They have him here," she said. "The townsfolk are wondering if he should live or not. He saw magic, and I told someone here he's a witch hunter, which he is, if only for money. They also know he's a civilian married to a jumper."

"That all they know about him?" he asked.

"Unless they ask me more questions, and I'll tell them whatever truthful information I know just to make sure he doesn't get out. If they think he's bad, they haven't met his wife."

"What about this attempted murder I heard about?"

"Did you see me kiss that guy Hook?"

"Yeah."

"That was me making sure it stayed attempted."

"And then you got hit by a car."

"He got shot in the shoulder, though he was aiming at another civilian."

"I thought you didn't use your power."

"I had to. This is what I do."

"Protect so-called civilians?" Rumpelstiltskin asked from the doorway.

"Protect everyone from themselves and each other," D and August replied simultaneously.

"It's part of the job description," August added.

"I see." He turned to D. "I wanted to thank you for saving Belle."

"As he said, it's what we do."

"If you need anything-"

"You're an imp. You deal in favors, and you can't accept a gift."

"I just wanted to-"

"Please, just shut up. I know what we're dealing with. Do you?"

"Excuse me."

"You're a moron, magic man. When I say hold off, that means hold off, because what you did was exactly what he wanted. He said he'd see something no one would believe, and guess what. Because of you, he did, and while you chew on that little nugget, your girlfriend came in earlier and told me exactly how magic-obsessed you are. No surprise there, imp, because look at the mess you've gotten this town into. It's your chief responsibility to fix it, got it?" Both August and Rumpelstiltskin stared at her. She looked at August and said, "Unless you're a party to this, don't say anything." August stepped back, and D looked at Rumpelstiltskin. "Good luck," she said simply. "You're gonna need it."

"Thank you for your...encouraging words." He turned and walked out without another word.

"Wow," August said. "I never saw anyone tear into him like that."

"He's an imp."

"He's the most powerful being in the Enchanted Forest."

"There were others, and there always will be, that are more powerful, and more corrupt. If what you said is true, then I fear Pan's traveling companions fell victim to at least one of them."

"So what do we do about it?"

"For one, hope they survived. If they did, we hope we can open a trod to get them back. If we can't then we have to find another way, and that probably means we have to consult the idiot imp, and you know as well as he does how I feel about him."

"I think half the town knows. They're all gathered around the hospital waiting for news on anyone and everyone."

"Damn, can't get out of here. Where's the boy? Can we get him in here?"

"Should be able to. He's back at my place, or he should be." D nodded. "I'll be right back."

"Thanks, August."

"Sure thing." He walked out of the room.

Not ten minutes later, Dr. Whale walked in to check her chart and make a note, or whatever doctors did. "You're not from a land with magic, are you," she said.

"No, no, I'm not," he replied. "It was a weird feeling to get used to at first."

"I understand. For a farm girl from Kansas, Oz was a head trip and a half." He laughed. "Heard you disappeared for a while."

"I had to sort a few things out, but they're in order now."

"That's good." She paused. "Greg, is he..."

"Mr. Mendel is perfectly fine."

"Did he make any attempt to reach anyone by the name of Alice?"

"Not to my knowledge, but my job is to make sure my patients stay alive, not to monitor whom they contact."

"Thanks, doctor."

"Of course."

As D watched him leave, she couldn't help but wonder whether she should be relieved or not.

OUAT

"You're D?" Peter asked when he walked into the hospital room.

"What were you expecting?" the woman on the bed replied.

"I dunno, someone..."

"Cooler?" Peter shrugged and nodded. D shifted into more of a sitting position. "I help make sure the portal jumpers do what they're supposed to."

"Which is what?"

"Get wanderers and refugees from other realms where they need to be."

"What if they don't?"

D shrugged. "That's their problem. I have enough to deal with with the ones that do do their jobs, and I don't watch the others."

"Others?"

"Whoever watches the jumpers in the other realms." Peter nodded. "August told me you lost your traveling companions on the way here."

"Yeah."

"Any idea where you lost them?"

"Somewhere in the tunnel."

"What tunnel?"

"The one I made to get here. There was something evil that tried to take us from it. I think that's what took them."

"Who are they?"

"I called them Weirdo and the Seer. They wanted to come to this town, but they wouldn't say why." D nodded. "Do you think you can find them?"

"Do either of them have special powers?"

"Weirdo can feel magic."

"Are you talking about finding that kid?" Emma asked, leaning against the door frame with her arms folded across her chest.

"Yeah," D replied. Several questions slipped into her guarded look.

"I think I can help with that."


	10. Walking Through a Land Without Color

Walking Through a Land Without Color

Bae scrambled over every piece of monochromatic underbrush in his path in his rush to get to where they landed. John, Alan, Will, and Morraine were standing in the clearing, all in living color; the contrast was jarring. "Are you all okay?" Bae asked.

"...Yes," Morraine said. "What is it?"

"We were followed."

"I assume the man behind you isn't to whom you're referring," Will said.

Bae glanced over his shoulder and looked back at his companions. "No," he said shortly.

"What is that?" Gerhardt asked. The darkness prickled at the edge of Bae's senses, as well.

"What do we do now?" Alan asked.

"Arm ourselves and work on finding a way out," Bae said. He turned to Gerhardt and asked, "Can you do that for us? Can you help us?" Gerhardt considered this for a moment and then nodded. "Thank you." Gerhardt nodded again.

The darkness surged forward from Gerhardt's left, and soon all eyes were fixed in that direction. "Don't try to fight," Gerhardt said. "South. Start running and never look back." Will and Alan didn't need to be told twice. Bae turned to John and nodded. Morraine pulled him close and kissed him before running after the group of Merry Men that formed their party.

Bae turned back to Gerhardt and said, "Come with us."

"No. You need to get out," Gerhardt replied.

"So do you. Come with us." Gerhardt glanced at the magic rushing for them and then looked at Bae, who nodded. "Come with us. Please." Gerhardt assented silently, and they ran out of the clearing.

Gerhardt quickly assumed the lead of the group, guiding them through paths and over streams until they reached a cobble-stone road that led to a major city, eventually, though they were still in the middle of nowhere. "That...that is impressive," John said to Gerhardt through his heavy breathing.

"How?" Gerhardt asked. It wasn't lost on anyone that he hadn't broken a sweat.

Will and Alan leaned into each other, panting to heavily to speak, so Bae said, "We...we're generally not...supposed to move that fast." Morraine nodded and straightened before approaching the road and checking in both directions. "You're fast."

"Oh. Thanks."

He turned and started walking. In spite of himself, Bae jogged to catch up. "Where're you going?"

"I don't know."

"You're not going to go back home or anything?"

"I don't have a home anymore."

"What happened?"

"First I died, then my brother Victor brought me back, then I killed our father because he was hurting Victor, then I was locked up, then the Blackness came and took my brother right out from under me."

"How long ago was that?"

"Twenty-nine years."

It dawned on Bae then that the Dark Curse had slipped into yet another world, and that opened up possibilities he couldn't even fathom. All he could manage was a small, "Oh."

Gerhardt stopped and turned to face him. "You're a good kid," he said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Too late for that now, I should think." Bae recognized the bone-chilling voice of Sir Guy of Gisborne. Slowly he turned, until he faced the night and his willing accomplice, the yeoman archer.

"This looks like fun," Bae said flatly. "What, do you pursue your targets into other worlds so you're completely sure they're never found?"

"Is he giving you trouble?" Gerhardt asked Bae.

"Nothing I can't handle." Bae turned back to Gisborne and Robin and approached them against his every instinct. "What're you going to do, shoot us where we stand? Can you kill what's already dead?" Gisborne knit his brow, and Bae gestured to Gerhardt.

"We can sure try," Robin said, taking aim and firing directly at Gerhardt. Bae ducked and turned to him, to find him pulling an arrow out of the center of his chest. When Bae checked, he found the magical heart beating as strongly as ever.

"Apparently you can't kill what's already died once," Gerhardt said, studying the arrow. He threw it aside and started to approach their two attackers. Bae was at an impasse. He had no idea what anyone on either side of this equation was up against, what the odds of survival were for any party, or even what would play out in the next few minutes. Gerhardt paused before Robin and punched him in the face with enough force to knock him out. Gisborne stared at him. Bae plucked an arrow from his quiver and plunged it deep into Gisborne while he was distracted.

Gerhardt stepped back and watched calmly as Gisborne pitched forward and clutched the arrow buried in his gut. Bae shoved him back and looked at John, Alan, Will, and Morraine, who now started to whisper amongst themselves about the incident. "We should keep going," Gerhardt said. That settled the matter right there, and they started walking, following Gerhardt's lead.

OUAT

"Thank you," Gerhardt said to Bae after he had found them a place to rest for the night.

"For what?" Bae asked.

"For not treating me like a monster."

"I've known monsters."

"Were the monsters you knew dead?"

"That depends on how you define dead. You can be alive and be so depraved that it can be said you don't have a soul, and I can see how that leads to the statement that the soul 'died'."

"You're fifteen. How do you know about things like that?"

Bae looked up at the sky over the small village in which they had found themselves welcomed and lodged and fed. Another flash of lightning jolted across the cloud that perpetually covered this world. "My father became a dark wizard," he said after a moment. "He wanted to keep me from going to war, and the magic changed him, made him hurt people. He never did that before he changed. He couldn't hurt a fly, and now Fate means to tell me that my father, my own father, has become a remorseless murderer."

"Everyone says I'm a monster because of who I am, and because I killed our father."

"You did?"

Gerhardt nodded. "He was hurting Victor."

"Is your brother still alive?" Gerhardt nodded again. "The Blackness-the Dark Curse-took its victims to a town called Storybrooke. I think that's where he is."

"Really?" It was Bae's turn to nod. Gerhardt turned away and sighed.

"What is it?"

"I just hope he still wants me around."

"Why wouldn't he? He brought you back to life."

"But he always thinks I'm a mistake. Every time I tried to prove myself, he encouraged me, but he looked at me like he could put me under the knife again, and I would come out normal again." Bae bit his lip and regarded Gerhardt.

"Maybe you should talk to him," he said after a moment of Gerhardt's silence. "When we find him, of course."

"You're right. I should."

"Will you come with us?"

Gerhardt gave a resolute nod and said just as firmly, "Yes." In a more relaxed tone, he added, "I need something to do other than avoiding angry mobs anyway."

"It's not your fault people are narrow-minded. For all I know, you're their first encounter with the unknown."

"You're wise for a lad of fifteen."

"I've been around, and I guess I'm not really fifteen, since I was in Neverland for three hundred years."

"Neverland is real?"

"Yeah."

"And Peter Pan?"

Bae nodded. "Him too."

Gerhardt smirked and looked away again. "What if I went on an adventure with him?"

"You'd be stuck in Neverland for all of time, or until the curse came and claimed you, as well, as a Lost Boy. Or, if you're really unlucky, you'd have been sent to the Nowhereland as a Long Lost Boy and killed by your own worst nightmares. You'd never see your brother again, your father would still be alive and abusing him, you never would have died to be resurrected with a magical heart, you never would have become a sensitive, and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I wouldn't be in a half-rotted body. I wouldn't be so damned strange." He looked at his stitched-up hand. "I'd still heal from my wounds." He sighed. "But you're right. I wouldn't have my brother."

"Really, it's for the best that things worked out as they did."

"Yes." Bae looked back at the sky, but Gerhardt still studied him. "Is Robin Hood real, too?"

"I think you'll prefer the legend to the truth."


	11. Sensitive

Sensitive

Gerhardt awoke with a start and looked around at the small hut the entire party shared. There was the boy Baelfire, his girlfriend, their three male traveling companions. Everyone was accounted for, so the problem wasn't that someone was missing. It was that someone was present. He eased out of bed and walked over to the square in the wall that passed for a window. The street was empty and utterly silent, and he knew from experience that that was very, very dangerous.

He glanced back at the party and then slipped out the door, closing it behind his back. From here he had a better view of the street, and he was already running through his tactical options. What he was feeling was familiar to him, though he hadn't known it for more than a day. An image of the archer and his knightly lord appeared in his mind. The boy's case just couldn't get any stranger, he thought.

He closed his eyes and focused on the sensation, tracking its movements around the village, if there were any to speak of, and so far there weren't. He started to walk back into the house when every fiber in his being suddenly rejected the idea. He turned back to the village, and in front of him he suddenly found the knight and archer. "Hello," he said. "It looks like our traveler's followers haven't given up their quest, whatever that happens to be. Though if I had to guess, I'd say you're trying to stop him." He paused to rub his throat and clear it, and he looked at them again.

The knight regarded Gerhardt as if the latter were a prize. Gerhardt couldn't help but bristle. When the knight gave an approving smile, he said, "Actually, I think you'll do."

"Do for what?"

The knight merely nodded to the archer, who drew an arrow and said, "Here are your options: come with us or do something stupid to get you and your new friends killed."

"You've just proven you can't kill me. Do you really want to engage?"

"It's been said by prophets that there will come a land of opportunity," the knight said. "I just want to find it. Is that a crime?"

"Wanting a better life is no crime, but that's not what you're after. You want to pick a fight."

"And whatever makes you say that?"

"You carry yourself like a man of perpetual war. You can't tolerate peace, and you'll do everything in your power to prevent it. That's what you're here for right now."

"You think you know so much, don't you. That's just so cute."

"Hmm, arrogance. An interesting trait in a leader, but one I've never found leading to any good." The knight nodded to the archer, who filed into the window. The arrow landed with a solid thunk against the wall, and everyone inside stirred into wakefulness. Bae was the first to step outside and stand next to Gerhardt.

"Meet Gisborne and Robin Hood," he said.

"You were right about the legend. Very much preferable to the truth."

"But sadly the truth is the world we live in. Isn't that right, Gisborne?"

"What are you getting at?" Gisborne asked.

"Just giving us enough time to get our acts together," John said behind Bae and Gerhardt. They stepped back to allow the Merry Men to pass. John had his dagger in hand. "We're here now, so let the festivities begin."

"Yes, let's," Gisborne said, drawing his own blade. Bae and Gerhardt turned to Robin as their second knife fight began.

Robin lowered his arrow and looked between them. "I'm looking at two sensitives now. Interesting, but only one has an enchanted heart."

"What do you need an enchanted heart for?" Bae asked. "For that matter, what do you need a sensitive for, anyway? What good can we do you?"

"Gisborne just wants him." Robin gestured to Gerhardt.

"Then I can't let you get out of here alive." Robin turned to him and narrowed his eyes, and Bae took a deep breath. There was no magic to draw on, so instead he turned on Robin's own sensitivity, and that proved to be even more of a challenge than using ambient magical energy. He finally managed to force Robin to turn on himself, and he collapsed to the ground to writhe in pain.

Bae started to sway and stagger, and Gerhardt grabbed him by the upper arm. Suddenly his own senses flared to life, and he was acutely aware of everything in his environment. He even had his sense of touch back. What was more, he was suddenly aware of Robin and his sensitivity, and what Bae was trying to do to him. He looked at Robin, who still writhed on the cobblestones, and in the space of a thought, he finished what Bae started. Robin gave one final spasm, and then his lifeless form sprawled out before them.

Gingerly, Gerhardt lay Bae on the cobblestones and backed away.

OUAT

"What can you do?" D asked.

"Well, I'm not sure yet," Emma replied, walking deeper into the room and burying her hands in her back pockets, "but Mr. Gold is having me look for his son."

"You mean Rumpelstiltskin is having you look for his son?"

"Yeah."

"What's the kid look like?"

"Fifteen, sixteen. Black hair, dark eyes, a little bit baby-faced but growing out of it."

"Weirdo," Peter said.

"Well, now we know why he wanted to come to Storybrooke," D said. "Now we just need to figure out exactly what world he's in right now."

"Can you do that?" Emma asked.

"That requires innate magical ability. I can help, but you're the one that has to do it."

"Why not him?"

"You have an obligation. Besides, he managed to let an evil force into a travel vortex."

"What makes you think I'll do any better?"

"You're more mature, for one, and for another," D said as she reached for a pair of crutches at her bedside and used them to stand, "I'm not asking you to travel."

She made her way to the door. "Where're you going?" Peter asked.

"To check myself out. Then, to find those kids you lost."

Emma turned to Peter and said, "Stay out of trouble." On that, she followed D out of the room.

OUAT

"You're not used to the idea of sensitivity killing, are you," Bae said when he and Gerhardt finally had a moment alone, on a small hill just a half a mile down the road from the village.

"I'm not used to any of this," Gerhardt replied. "Magic and legends...those things aren't supposed to be real."

"You're the risen dead."

"That's a result of my brother's scientific work."

"And an enchanted heart."

"And an enchanted heart." Gerhardt smirked. "He thought science could do anything, but he still needed magic."

"Funny how that works, isn't it?" Gerhardt laughed and nodded. "Taking out that what you did was generally morally wrong, it was cool."

"Thank you... I thought you were unconscious."

"I was close."

"Just as long as you're okay now."

Bae nodded. "That uniform you're wearing..."

"Military. Before I died I was a decorated soldier. I guess it doesn't mean much anymore, but it used to."

"Who were your enemies?"

"There were the people we met along the way, but according to the commander, we never really met them. He did, however, keep telling us we were on the fast track to Romania."

"Where's that?"

"East of here and a little bit south."

"Why did you need to go there?"

"I...My unit...we were hunting vampires."

"Vampires?"

"I've never seen one myself, but the stories I've heard..." He bowed and shook his head. When he looked up again, they had reached the edge of the village. "Do you have vampires in...in the Enchanted Forest?"

"I don't know. I've never been beyond the Frontlands and the haven. As for every other world I've been to so far, I've just been trying to survive. I've been chased around by evil creatures and sent to places I don't even recognize." He sighed. "Sorry, but this is really getting old."

"I can imagine. How many worlds have you been to?"

"Counting the Enchanted Forest twice, first as my birthplace and then where I ended up after Neverland, five, here included."

"And you, a lad of fifteen."

"You really like calling me a lad."

"That's what you are, isn't it?"

"That depends on where you draw the line of manhood."

"Some say what makes a man is war."

"What do you say?"

"I simply don't think fighting is the measure of a man. I think there's something more to it than that."

"What sort of something?"

"I haven't figured out what that is yet." Bae nodded. "It's getting late. We should probably get some rest." He nodded again, and they walked side-by-side back into the village.


	12. The Jumpers' Dilemma

The Jumpers' Dilemma

"Okay, here we are, the middle of the woods," Emma said as she parked the car. D, with August the puppet man serving as a witness, climbed out of the back seat and made their way over to the well. She followed them. "What do we do?"

D stopped and leaned on her crutches. "Let me see your hand," she said, extending her own.

"And just to be clear, you're sure this'll work?"

"Yeah."

"This is almost always her first step for this type of work," August said. "Figure out where and when they got off to."

"Is it safe?"

"Should be," D said. Emma nodded and took D's hand.

"Now, close your eyes." Emma obeyed. She took a deep breath and reached deep into the recesses of the town sheriff.

"This feels weird," Emma said.

"I get that a lot. It's perfectly normal."

"Okay."

"Now, I need you to focus on whatever mental image you have of the boy you're looking for." Emma released another breath. D noticed that she was starting to relax a little. "That's good." Mist started to swirl around them, a blend of purple and gold that D and August knew they or anyone else would never be able to replicate in a million years, and then several sheets formed out of it. The energy was focused on one in particular, a world in total grey scale save for a few figures in one of the villages. They were touched by magic, D thought. There was something else about them, too. They felt like this realm, and they dressed like medieval outlaws. Among them was a boy that matched the description Emma gave. "That's good," D said again.

Gingerly, Emma eased her eyes open. "Did we find them?"

"Yes."

"Looks like a tricky move, though," August said. "Grey scale land doesn't have magic."

D released Emma's hand, and Emma swayed for a moment but managed to stay on her feet. "August's right. The only way to access magic in a land without magic is through its sensitives and portals, and finding either is like finding a needle in a haystack, if there's a needle to be had."

"Which means Rumpelstiltskin's gonna kill me."

"No. Someone like him would need someone like you, and you can't do a lot of good if you're dead."

"Good point."

D read something in August's wooden eyes and said, "We need to talk." Emma nodded and took her cue to retreat back into the car. D limped over to August. "Demon Master."

"What do we do?" August asked.

"We can't let it cross, no matter what. We have to find a way to get them here without opening the way for it, too."

"How?"

"Good question."

"We know somebody in the land without color, don't we? Or we know someone who knows someone?"

"There has to be somebody if it's a land we've heard of."

"I need you to see a man about a hat. See if you can track down anyone in the network from this place."

"If there's not?"

"Then we need another option." August nodded.

OUAT

August took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A moment later, Jefferson answered. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"Your help. I'm looking for someone in the network in the Land Without Color," August replied.

"Hat's burned. Sorry."

"If you want out, just say so. You don't have to go through this elaborate charade."

"It's not a charade. It's the truth. Some jackass from the Forest tossed it into a fire, the son of a bitch."

"Well, we're screwed."

"We? Since when am I involved in your crazy schemes?"

"This isn't mine. It's D's. She's looking for a lost kid and his companions, and we found them in the Land Without Color, but there's also a Demon Master there, and we need a way to get the kid out while making sure that thing stays trapped."

"Can't help you. Now get off my porch."

"'Kay then."

August turned to leave, and Jefferson said, "Hey." August paused and looked at him. "Talk to Rumpelstiltskin. He'll know of something."

August nodded. "Thanks." Jefferson made sure he set a course for the pawn shop before closing the door.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin looked up when the bell rang, and he set the chipped cup on the counter with the rag he was polishing it with. "What can I do for you, Mr. Booth?" he asked.

"Oh, God, what am I getting into?" August asked.

"What is it?"

"We found that kid, Weirdo."

"Where is he?"

"In a Land Without Color. And magic."

Rumpelstiltskin straightened only to lean on his cane. "You're sure of this?"

"I watched D and Emma find him themselves. Mostly it was Emma, with D on the assist."

"That's where they found him? Frankenstein's realm?"

"The Land Without Color?" Rumpelstiltskin gave a slight nod. "Yeah, that's where they found him."

"Can he...can he be reached?"

"I don't know. He's with others, others who've been touched by powerful magic, and there's a guide with them, as well, who knows the realm, apparently. He's making sure they all stay out of trouble."

"Does the guide know trouble?"

"I don't know."

Rumpelstiltskin limped around the desk and stopped in front of August. "Thank you," he whispered.

August nodded and turned to leave, and then he turned back. "Could you help me with something?"

"Of course. Absolutely."

"How exactly do we...get there?"

"I assume you're asking me because Jefferson's hat has been burned." August nodded again. "I'm sorry, but I can't, especially not to a land without magic."

"Thanks." Rumpelstiltskin nodded, and August walked out of the pawn shop.

OUAT

"Empty again?" D asked when August met her on a corner.

"Yeah. Can you still open the trods?" August replied.

"I could, but you remember who's in there."

"Oh, yeah."

"We have to be sure there's no other way first. Then we have to take the risk."

"There's one other place to go. The town library."


	13. Taking Prisoners

Taking Prisoners

Bae exhaled silently and loosed the arrow, which struck the deer in the shoulder. Some of the villagers had accompanied him, and now they were staring at him in awe as he walked over and plucked the arrow from the deer before cleaning it and returning it to his quiver. One of them was quick to help him with the deer, and to this man, Bae asked, "Why are they staring?"

"It's your skill with a bow, it seems," the man replied. "We all find it remarkable." Bae had no response to that, so he held his tongue as they carried their prize back to the village to be butchered and cured. He couldn't help but wonder if grey meat was any stranger than imaginary meat, but at least it was tangible.

"Nice work," Morraine said when they came into town. When Bae could talk to her alone, she added, "Gerhardt says he felt something strange."

"Strange?" Bae asked. Morraine nodded and led him into the hut. Gerhardt sat at the foot of one of the beds, head bowed so that he could examine his hands. He looked up at their approach.

"Do you know what it is?" he asked.

"What what is?" Gerhardt shot forward and gripped him by the shoulders. Bae noticed that his eyes glowed red, and then something shot through his soul. Gerhardt was remembering the feeling of someone trying to find him. "He's still looking for me."

Gerhardt stepped back. "So you do know."

"My father hasn't stopped trying to find me for three hundred years. This is his way of trying to reach me again. We did it before, found a connection."

"This doesn't feel like..."

"How did you know he cast that curse?"

"I guessed."

"You're right. These were others, several, in fact, which meant Rumpelstiltskin needed a little help finding me."

"What's that mean?"

"I don't know yet, but if they know about us, they know about Gisborne, and that means they'd fear that he'd follow us if we made an attempt to get to Storybrooke. Where can we lock him up?"

OUAT

Gerhardt changed into the clothes of a villager who offered them after some persuasion, and he walked into the forest, followed closely by the Merry Men, Bae, and Morraine. He closed his eyes and sought out the man identified as Gisborne. The man was nearby, immediately north of his current position. I have what you want, Gerhardt thought, somewhat unsure if it would prompt Gisborne's notice at all. Since the presence drew closer, he guessed that it did, so he continued. I know where we can negotiate. My brother had a laboratory that served as a home as well. We'll talk there.

A thought that was not his own said, Lead me.

Gerhardt turned and nodded to Bae, who gave the signal to the other Merry Men. "Head southeast," he said. "We're going to Castle Frankenstein."

OUAT

"Nothing," August said, throwing the book cover in place and leaning back in his chair.

"Shit," D whispered, leaning forward and burying her fingers in her hair. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." She swallowed. "Get the sheriff and the town doctor, in case anything goes wrong. Tell them to meet me at the most magical place in this town."

"The well?"

"The well. That's where we'll open our trod. That's where we'll get that kid out."

"You think this'll work?"

"It has to, and it has to work perfectly, or this world's in deep shit."

She regarded August for a moment, and he said, "I'll make those calls."

"Thanks."

OUAT

Gisborne's presence followed in the form of black mist noticeable because of its unusual colorfulness, and the Merry Men surrounded it. Gerhardt had assumed the lead, and he worried his lip to the point of nearly tearing it to shreds over his hope that this would work. This had to work, he told himself firmly. It absolutely had to. That was the only way to secure their passage to Storybrooke. This crazy-ass plan had to work.

So he did his best not to betray his utter fear that this would fall through, and he led the party to Castle Frankenstein, which, after some wandering along a main road, he found relatively easy. At least he wouldn't have to worry them with the news that he was lost.

"Here we are," Gerhardt said at dusk, staring at the ruined and worn facade of his brother's castle and giving it a vague gesture. "Welcome to Castle Frankenstein."

Gisborne deigned to step out of the mist. "Are you sure this ground is neutral?"

"It's been abandoned for nearly thirty years. Of course it's neutral." Gisborne nodded, and Gerhardt led them into the castle, which had been, as he had said, untouched for thirty years. Gisborne took a position beside Gerhardt, giving the latter the opportunity to signal behind his back to the others. Bae drew an arrow, Morraine unsheathed her sword, John his dagger, and Will and Alan silently grabbed pokers from the dusty, ash-covered hearth. Assured of his companions' state of armament, Gerhardt turned to their would-be hostage and said, "Want to see something cool?"

"That depends on what you mean by 'cool'," Gisborne replied.

"I'm sure you'll find it fascinating. This way, please." He walked over to the stairs leading to the dungeon. His magical heart thundered so loudly in his chest he was sure everyone else could hear it, but he kept walking. Bae and Morraine exchanged a concerned glance.

"Let this work," Bae mouthed to whatever deity was listening. They descended the stairs, and Gerhardt turned and punched Gisborne in the face. Gisborne blinked and stumbled back, and John buried his dagger deep into the knight's back. Morraine held the blade of the sword to his neck, and Bae touched the tip of the arrow to the back of his head. The three of them guided him into the cell, and Gerhardt clocked him in the nose one more time for good measure before locking the door. Then and only then did Bae relax his draw.

"Enjoy your stay," Gerhardt said. "I can personally attest to the quality of the accommodations." He turned to leave, paused, and looked over his shoulder at their new prisoner. "There's no magic here. I should know." To the others, he said, "Let's go," and he started to ascend the stairs. Only then did he realize his assessment was wrong.


	14. An Account of the Travelers

An Account of the Travelers

"What're we doing here again?" Emma asked.

"There's a very good chance what I'm planning to do could go wrong," D replied, turning to Emma and Dr. Whale. "It's magic," she added for the doctor's benefit.

"You're gonna use the magic from this well, that can return what was lost, to do what?"

"Open a door to the Land Without Color, through which we'll be able to extract the kid and his traveling companions. With any luck, no one will follow them, but right now I honestly have no idea."

"You think this'll work?"

"It's our only option," August said.

"Barring the fact that we're having a conversation with a man-sized puppet," Whale said, holding up his hands and stepping forward, "I assume I'm here for medical reasons?"

"Yep," D said shamelessly. She turned to the well and lowered the bucket. When she pulled the bucket up again, she scooped some of its water into the cap of a thermos. "Okay," she whispered. "Let's see if this'll work." She took a deep breath and stared into the water's depths for a moment. With her as a channel, the ambient magic made the water glow a light blue. She spilled the contents in a circle and watched. The water continued to glow, and the glow intensified and spread until it formed a ring.

Whale stepped forward and watched in perhaps more awe than everyone else when the light from the ring spread inward, forming a sky-blue dot. He wanted one of two things: to throw back one or two or six shots, and to tell Red Lucas as soon as he had the chance. If the rumor mill didn't catch up to her before he did.

The blue light gave way to something Whale instantly recognized: the ceiling of the foyer of Castle Frankenstein. "Someone on the other side is trying to reach us," D said. "Don't disturb the water. If you do, this closes." With that, she stepped into the vortex.

OUAT

The Land Without Color reminded D of movies from her childhood, but what struck her most was the damage done by the curse, made plain on the facade of the building. Stop gawking, she told herself sharply as she hobbled over to the stairs that led to the castle's basement. Two men in Lincoln Green had stumbled out and were babbling incoherently over each other, the end result being that neither of them made sense. Finally they said one word together that she could understand: "Gisborne."

"Get in the portal, now," she said, pointing. They ran and jumped. Two down, D thought, continuing to the stairs.

OUAT

Gerhardt dove and tackled Bae to the ground, snapping the arrow shaft, but through a careful landing, the bow remained intact. Above them, the cell door struck the stone door frame. Gisborne stepped out of the cell and said, "I can't be contained." Gerhardt pushed himself to his feet and stepped between him and Bae. "And you are just a foolish young man. I bet you're too idealistic for your own good."

"You're damn right," said a woman at the top of the steps. She made her way down on crutches, and Gerhardt noted that even in this condition, she was just as tall as Gisborne. "Not that idealism is bad or anything."

"How did you know I was idealistic?" Gerhardt asked her.

She shrugged. "I happened to be listening." She looked back at Gisborne. "And you are...just as I expected you to be."

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Gisborne asked.

"Does it matter?" Gisborne backhanded her. In response, she shoved the points of her crutches into his chest as hard as she could. Then she balanced on her crutches and kicked him in the face with her good leg. He staggered back and stared at her, agog. "Oh, yeah. I went there." She turned to Gerhardt. "Are you with them?" she asked, tilting her head to Bae, Morraine, and John. Gerhardt nodded, not entirely sure exactly which feature of this woman robbed him of his carefully re-cultivated ability to speak.

"We've invited him to come with us," Morraine said.

"In that case, he needs to keep his invitation, and quickly. The longer the trod's open, the more-" The castle was rocked by deep and violent tremors. She lost her balance, and Gerhardt was quick to catch her. "Thanks," she whispered, regaining her footing. "C'mon." She started to ascend the stairs, with Gerhardt, Bae, Morraine, and John immediately following.

OUAT

After what felt like an eternity, the group burst into the foyer. D urged them to the portal and then looked back at the door. The cute dead man in clothes about a size too big for him was making sure that freak didn't have a chance to escape, and once he was sure the door was as secure as when he was once behind it, he turned to the trod. She gave an encouraging nod, and he stepped through. She jumped in after, just as the tremors shook the castle again.

OUAT

Whale watched as a procession of people he didn't recognize stepped out of the portal on the floor. Then the earth shook beneath their feet, and he stumbled and fell to his knees. Out of the portal finally emerged D and, of all people, his brother. "Gerhardt," he whispered, staring.

D kicked the edge of the ring, and lightning shot from the center of the portal into the sky. There was one final violent shake, and then everything stilled.

It was the calm before the storm.

OUAT

Gerhardt rushed over to his brother and started going off in German about the state he'd found himself in, but Victor soon found himself failing to listen. He shut up and turned his gaze skyward, as well. The lightning formed into a ring of light that spiraled back toward the earth. "Oh, I'll never get used to this," Victor said.

"Speak for yourself," Gerhardt replied. The ring touched down, and in a flash, it was replaced by Gisborne.

"At least the witch didn't get out," the woman on crutches said. "We're still screwed, but we're not as screwed as we could be."

"We're still screwed," a blond woman replied.

"Yes, we are. I just said that. It's just that it could be worse."

"As I said," Gisborne said, looking directly at Gerhardt. "I can't be contained." He flicked his wrist, and Gerhardt slammed into a tree. Then he turned to Bae and Morraine.


	15. Reunions

Reunions

Gerhardt stood and dusted himself off, and he quickly took stock of the situation. The Merry Men were under attack by Gisborne, and no one seemed brave enough to do anything about it. Humanity had to be better than this, he thought as he stepped over a bush and grabbed Gisborne from behind. He slammed Gisborne's head into his own and then into a tree, releasing him only when he was sure he was limp. He looked at the brunette on crutches and the blonde standing next to her. The former's case he could understand, but certainly not the latter's. "What are you gawking at?" he asked sharply.

"Where do I start?" the woman replied.

"Please," Victor said, holding up his hands and moving into position to step between them. "I will talk to my brother. As to this man, his only medical problem is that he's unconscious, and he'll wake up with a bad headache, nothing else."

"Are you seriously going to do this?"

"Why the hell not?" the woman on crutches asked. "We all saw what he could do. I get that he's not as bad as what almost got out, but he's still evil and crazy powerful. Why can't we leave him here? I'm okay with it."

"What are we, a town of killers?"

"Uh..." Victor said. He glanced at his brother, who promptly shot back a German version of, "Don't look at me."

"You know what, I shouldn't have asked."

"He'll be fine. It's not like we shot him up full of bullets."

"I wish we did," Gerhardt muttered in German. "Would solve a lot of problems." Victor shot him a look.

The woman nodded and said, "Okay, look. I have something else to deal with. I have to get this kid," she pointed to Bae, "to his father, so if you'll excuse me."

"Feel free," Victor said. The two children, the puppet man, and the woman on crutches followed the blonde woman to her car. As to the other Merry Men, the two jittery ones kept close to their more stolid companion.

The woman turned from the car and asked, "Are you coming with us?"

"My brother and I have much to discuss, if you don't mind." She nodded and climbed into the car. As she drove off, the Merry Men seemed to take the hint and disappeared into the forest. Victor turned to Gerhardt. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Gerhardt asked.

"How did you slam into a tree and then get up like nothing happened? Or, for that matter, headbutt a guy and walk away from it without so much as a mild headache?"

"You did this to me. You shouldn't even be asking the question."

"Gerhardt..."

"While we're on the subject, let's talk about how inhuman you think I am. Let's talk about the fact that no matter how hard I try, I will never please you. You'll just continue to think I'm a monster, that you made a monster."

"Gerhardt..."

"I did everything you wanted. I relearned how to walk, speak, read, write. I regained my mastery over my languages, but you still thought I was a failure. You brought me back to frickin' life, Victor. You did the impossible, and I'm standing in front of you because of it. Why is that not something you can accept?"

Victor's eyes brimmed over with tears now. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, shaking his head. "Gerhardt, I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way. I felt like such a failure..." He took a shaky breath. "No matter what I said to you when I decided to save you, I thought he was right, that he'd been right all along. I'm really sorry. Can I have hope that you'll forgive me?" Gerhardt paused a moment and then nodded. Victor wrapped his arms around Gerhardt's neck, and Gerhardt returned the embrace. "I love you, brother."

"I love you, too."

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin stared as a group of six filed into his shop. Among them were Emma, August, D Gale, Baelfire, and Morraine. He limped around the desk and stopped in front of them. "Thank you," he whispered. "All of you, and everyone who helped you."

"That's what we do," D replied with a shrug. Rumpelstiltskin nodded, and all but Bae and Morraine reciprocated and walked out.

Bae turned to Morraine, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll be right outside," she whispered.

Bae nodded and watched her leave before he turned back to Rumpelstiltskin. "Here we are," he said.

"Yes, indeed," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "I'm glad you're alright."

"That means you don't have to kill anyone. That's one less night I have to spend lying awake wondering about the next day's body count." Rumpelstiltskin reached for his son, only to suddenly recoil, cry out, and shake his hand. "I'd like for you not to touch me right now. I wanted to find you for this talk. You cursed everyone in this town and then brought magic to a land without it. What else have you done? And tell me the truth."

"Baelfire?"

"Don't get me wrong. It's nice to see you again, but I think we need to have this talk before we do anything else."

Rumpelstiltskin bowed his head, nodded, licked his lip, and looked up again. "Both stories about your mother were true," he whispered after a moment. "She ran off with that scoundrel pirate, and-"

"And when you had power you killed her."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because that's what you do to people who anger you. That's what you've done ever since you became the Dark One." Rumpelstiltskin's hand shot forward, and Bae grabbed his wrist. "I knew it," he hissed, tearing his hand away and spinning on his heels to walk out the door. Rumpelstiltskin watched and then looked down at the scratches on his wrist and hand. For the first time he wasn't compelled to use magic to heal his wounds.


	16. The Case Isn't Over

The Case Isn't Over

"I swear," Greg said, staring up at D, who even on crutches was intimidating him. "I didn't call anyone. I don't even know what I'm getting into here."

"Cut the Joe Q. Public act," D shot back. "Is Alice on her way or not?"

"I didn't call anyone. I told you."

D pressed the bottom of one of her crutches into Greg's throat. "You said yourself that you were looking for a town full of magic so you could prove to the world that you're not crazy and that your wife isn't crazy. You even said someday you'd see something no one would believe, and the night of the accident, you did. I know you did, because you broke my leg with your car when I tried to stop magic man from being an idiot. You saw that, and knowing you, you called someone. Tell me who, and tell me if they're coming."

Greg hesitated, breathing heavily, and D pressed the crutch deeper into his throat. "Yes," he said at once. "I called Alice. She's gonna come looking for me. She'll be boozed up off her ass, high on her meds, and she might have a few men with her, depending on how much like partying she's feeling. Two days, tops." D pulled the crutch back, and Greg gasped and coughed, but he didn't take his gaze off her. "I can't fix it now. She's already made her mind up."

D crutched her way to Greg's bedside and stared down at him, her face cold. "You're getting us into this mess, so you're gonna help us get out. If you chicken out, I will find you, and I'm no Princess Charming." She turned and left the room. Greg wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified for his life.

OUAT

Gerhardt stiffened and turned, pushing Victor behind him. The unconscious man stirred and shifted position with a groan, and then he got to his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I have to say, that was impressive," he said, popping his neck and lowering his hand. He approached the brothers and examined Gerhardt. "You look so much healthier in grey. Perhaps I should send you back and feed you to that vampire you mentioned."

Victor drew a gun and approached Gisborne, and Gerhardt held up an arm to stop him. "I failed you once as a brother," Victor said in German. "I'm not going to do so again."

"Not against this man. He's too dangerous," Gerhardt replied. Gisborne flicked his wrist, and the gun flew out of Victor's hand. "Run," Gerhardt whispered, giving Victor a sharp shove away from him. "This is about to get ugly."

Gisborne advanced on Gerhardt, who very quickly realized he had no idea what he was doing. Victor, instead of running, scrambled for the gun and fired three shots, all of which Gisborne magically returned. He ducked, and the bullets embedded themselves in the trees behind him or disappeared entirely. Gerhardt seized the opening and punched Gisborne in the temple. This time, for good measure, he slammed the latter into a tree several times with all the force he could muster. Again, Gisborne went limp, but Gerhardt had to be sure this time, so he shoved his nose deep into his skull.

He stood and walked over to Victor, and he extended a hand. Victor allowed Gerhardt to help him to his feet, and Gerhardt said, "I forgive you."

"Thank you."

"Now come on. We need to get out of here before he wakes up again, which I don't doubt, considering." Victor looked over Gerhardt's shoulder at Gisborne, and it dawned on him the volumes his brother's assessment spoke.

"Yes, let's go," he whispered. Side by side and with their arms draped over each other's shoulders, they walked down the path that led to Storybrooke.

OUAT

"Any news, good, bad, or ugly?" August asked when D met up with him in his room at the Bed and Breakfast.

"Two days, tops," she replied, sinking onto the bed. "Random people can come into this town, but hardly anyone can leave. It's like a cage at a zoo."

"A town-wide freakshow."

"We either have to restore the Barrier to outsiders, or we have to break the cage."

"Either way it requires a shitload of us."

"Or just the new guy and Rumpelstiltskin." He looked at her. "Don't pretend this isn't that serious."

"I'm not."

"Whatever plan we go with, though, we have to keep the local leadership in the loop."

"Better start making phone calls, then."

OUAT

"I have a guest bedroom," Victor said as he led Gerhardt into his apartment, "but I hardly have any guests, so you can sleep there. Or on the couch." Gerhardt looked around, shrugged, and flopped onto the couch. Victor joined him, and he threw an arm around Victor's shoulders.

"It's good to be back," Gerhardt said.

"It's good to have you back," Victor replied. The phone rang. "I'll get that." He walked into the kitchen and answered the phone with a brusque, "Whale."

"You're not at the pier, are you?" Red asked.

"...No."

"So where are you?"

"At home. Why?"

"What're you doing there?"

"I'm here with my brother."

"What? How?"

"Could you come by the apartment? I have a lot to explain to you, and I hope you understand that I don't want to run up my phone bill doing it."

"Everything's okay, though, right?"

"Yes."

"My shift's over in ten minutes, I'll be there in twenty."

"Okay. Was I needed while I was out?"

There was a pause, and he guessed she was blushing slightly. "Not that I know of."

"Thank you."

"I'll see you soon." He nodded as she hung up, and he returned the phone to its cradle.


	17. Meetings

Meetings

D and August walked into the Charmings' residence, and Emma closed the door behind them. "What's up?" she asked.

"It's Mendell," D said, turning to Emma. "He called Alice. We have two days at most."

"Who's Alice?"

"His portal jumper wife," August replied.

"Doesn't that mean she's on our side?" Charming asked.

"She smokes funny things, takes her meds with alcohol, and works as a prostitute in her off time. Her husband is obsessed with proving magic is real and making tourist attractions out of people like us. He's also a really good actor. That or you're a bad lie detector," D said.

Emma regarded D with narrow eyes. Snow asked, "What do we do?"

"We have two options," August said. "We close the town off to outsiders, or we break the Barrier and skip town before anything really bad happens."

"Where would we go?"

"That's where we come in," D said. "We're part of a network, and our job is to make sure people from other realms can get where they need to be."

"You mean we can go home."

"In theory."

"So what's the problem? If we can get out of here let's do it," Charming said.

"I see where she gets her ability to read people from," August muttered.

"The problem," D said, "is a witch from Oz, but if she can be bypassed, then that's okay."

"That should be no problem," Charming replied.

"But it is. The entire trod system is at her disposal now, even though she can't leave unless I open a door."

"The quake," Emma said.

"Yeah, and we're lucky it was that creepazoid that followed the Merry Men and not the witch. We're really lucky."

"There's more than one wicked witch?" Henry asked from behind D.

She turned and nodded. "Yeah, kid. There's more than one wicked witch."

"So if we can get around her, we can go home?" Charming asked.

"Trods are a last resort, regardless of who's in them, and we have to deal with the Barrier first, anyway. Question is, how?"

"I hate to say it, but we have to go to Rumpelstiltskin," Snow said.

"Let me talk to him," D replied.

"Are you crazy?" Emma asked. "Don't you know who he is?"

"Of course I know. Why do you think I'm going?"

"You're sure about this?" Snow asked. D nodded. She looked at Emma.

"We have to do something, and they're the only ones with a plan," Emma said.

"How do we know this isn't a trap."

"It's our job to help refugees and exiles from other realms," D said, "willing or otherwise."

"Tricking people that way isn't what we do," August added. Emma glared at him. "If we're helping you as jumpers, we're helping you as jumpers." Emma looked at Snow, who finally, reluctantly nodded. She nodded to August and D.

"Okay," D said with a reciprocating nod.

OUAT

Red walked into Victor's apartment and then stopped and blinked. The man sitting on the couch had a thick scar on his neck and an arm that looked like it was run through a shredder and sewn back together again. He smelled slightly of corpse. "I'd like to introduce you to my brother, Gerhardt, Gerhardt, this is Red," Victor said, gesturing to the man on the sofa. Gerhardt stood and extended his neater hand, which Red shook. He nodded and stepped back. "Please, have a seat." Red sat on the recliner, and the brothers Frankenstein sat on the sofa.

"So, what do you need to explain that was too long for the phone?" Red asked. Victor sighed and began recounting the long, strange day he hand. It began when he was called by the Sheriff and told he was needed at the well in case it was an emergency. Red found herself listening on the edge of her seat, increasingly unable to believe the details he presented but somehow firmly convinced they were all true, so it was no wonder that she couldn't speak when he finished his tale. Finally, she managed, "Oh, wow." Her mind filled with visions of worlds she couldn't recognize, much as it did when she talked to him on the pier and he told her his life story in a land without color, but now it was unfathomable. She felt like she was staring into an abyss, and she had to pull back, lest she fall in and never return, but on some level, the abyss was irresistible. "We can go...anywhere," she said. "And...anyone from anywhere can be in Storybrooke. This curse..." When it came to finishing the thought, words failed her.

"It's more prolific than we realized," Victor said. Red nodded mutely. The brothers looked at each other. Victor snapped his gaze back to Red and repeated himself, and then he stood and started pacing about his apartment, speaking in rapid-fire German and Dutch.

"What is he saying?" Red asked Gerhardt.

"He's rambling about headless horsemen and witches and hags and...I think he said twins."

"Cora and Regina, and Hansel and Gretel."

"There's also something in all that about Rapunzel. And the Brothers Grimm. Now he's just rambling on."

"What happened to the Brothers Grimm?"

"They disappeared into the trods while working on their collection of fairy tales. The collection survived, but so far as we know, they didn't."

"Their book...What was it called?"

"I remember the title 'Once Upon a Time' being tossed about between them, though I think they would've settled on something else."

"Oh, my God. That's Henry's book."

"We have bigger problems right now," Victor said when he finally stopped pacing and ranting. "We're trapped, and anyone and everyone can come into Storybrooke. My God," he whispered, running his hands through his hair. "What have I done?"

Gerhardt stood and walked around the sofa, and he placed his hands on Victor's shoulders. Victor lowered his hands and stared at his brother. "You saved a man's life," Gerhardt whispered. "What he does with his second chance isn't your fault. It's his."

"He's right," Red said. "Maybe enough sense can be talked into him to call Alice off."

"If he can talk sense into her," Victor replied.

"It's worth a shot, isn't it? I mean, we have to do something before this all goes straight to hell."

"Alright," he said with a curt nod. "Let's do it."


	18. Meetings part Two

Meetings part Two

Morraine nearly slammed into Bae when he stopped suddenly in the middle of the woods, and then she recognized the place. "What're we doing back here?" she asked.

"He's unconscious," Bae replied. "We can end this. He's weak."

"Bae."

"So you want him to track us down and kill us all, break the Merry Men forever so he can go back to his place in a position of power. Oh, alright. I see."

Morraine slapped him. "I followed you into the forest because I care about you. I'm not going to let you become the man that you hate. I understand that Gisborne has to die, believe me, I do, but I also don't want you to become a monster. Don't let your rage do this to you. Please." Bae stared at her, fighting tears, but behind those she saw something dark, bordering on evil. "Please," she said, laying her hands on his shoulders.

"What am I supposed to do?" he finally asked. "He did this. He's the reason I'm in this mess. If not for him, I would never have gone to Neverland, I would still have a mother, I would've had a shot at surviving the Ogre Wars, at the very least I would've been there with you and we could've died together. Now my life is a mess and I went through six rounds of hell and travel just to get here because he had to curse the entire Enchanted Forest and there's no telling wherever else to get to a land without magic." He stopped to breathe and figure out if there was anything he needed to say before settling on, "I just want everything to be like it was before he became the Dark One. Why does the universe think that's wrong?"

"It's not," Morraine said. She pulled Bae into a tight embrace, and he gave himself over to his tears.

OUAT

Red loaned Gerhardt a pair of sunglasses and a jacket that covered most of his scars and stitches, and he walked between her and his brother to Storybrooke General Hospital. He hung close to his brother, and Red tended to stray a bit to avoid the stink of decomposition, light as it was.

But despite the fears of both of them, Gerhardt went mostly unnoticed as they slipped through the halls of the hospital and into Greg Mendell's room. "Uh, the plan does call for Mendell to actually be here," Red said.

"That means we need to know where he is," Victor said, but Gerhardt was already out the door and on his way out to the street.

He scanned the sidewalk and then spotted the one in the hospital-issue robe, and he sprinted toward him. The man took off in the other direction. Several people yelled at Gerhardt as he passed, but he paid them no heed. Greg Mendell was on the run, and he had to be caught. To him, it was that simple. So he ran, and he tried to catch Mendell before he got too far.

Mendell ducked behind a Dumpster and kept running. Gerhardt cleared the Dumpster and bounced off the wall before landing in the alley and tackling Mendell to the ground. He pressed Mendell close so the man could be exactly sure what he was dealing with, and he snarled, "You are going to go back to your bed in the hospital, and you are going to call your wife and tell her that this town is perfectly normal and she shouldn't come here. You're going to tell her to put that story out to the rest of the world if she ever needs to. Tell her you hallucinated if you must. Once you're cleared by the doctor, you're going to go back home, and you're going to forget this place even existed."

"Shouldn't you be trying to eat my brains or something?" Mendell asked.

"Good idea."

"Great. Why does the one zombie I meet have to be intelligent?"

Gerhardt shot to his feet and shoved Mendell into the wall. "I worked very hard to get where I am," he yelled in his face. "How dare you mock my efforts." Mendell blanched and peed himself. Gerhardt crinkled his nose against the smell, but he held Mendell fast. "Now," Gerhardt said coldly, "you're going to do what I say, or I will tear all of your limbs off and twist your neck in a complete circle. Do you understand?" Mendell nodded, and Gerhardt set him down and led him by the upper arm back to the hospital. Red and Victor were staring at him in awe. "I made my point expressly clear, but I don't think he'll keep an oath made under duress," he said in German.

Victor nodded. "I'll watch him." Gerhardt handed Mendell off to his brother and their acquaintance, and they led him back to his room. He bit his lip and wondered why Mendell would run in the first place.

OUAT

D crutched into the pawn shop, and Rumpelstiltskin turned to face her. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I don't know if you realize this, magic man," D said, "but you've created a fundamental problem with that curse of yours."

"Always count on the sensitive to know everything."

"I told you there's a problem. You should be a bit more fazed."

"It's a curse, dearie. Of course there's a problem."

"I heard your kid ran out on you. I won't ask why, but do you want to push him even further away by not fixing your mistakes?" He paused, and she knew she hit something.

"There's a way," he said at last, "but I don't want to die."

"There's a doctor here who can fix that."

"I think that's worse."

D nodded. "Do me a favor and think about it, okay?"

He nodded to answer her gesture. "I can do that," he whispered.

"Okay." She made her way out the door, and her attention was arrested by the risen dead man watching her from across the street. He walked over to her, and she turned to face him. "I never caught your name."

"Gerhardt Frankenstein," he said.

"D."

"That's a letter."

"Because Dorothy is a stupid name and I hate it."

"Fair enough. Are you a sensitive, too?"

"Yeah."

"I told Mendell to call off whoever he called here."

"His wife Alice."

"Oh."

"How persuasive were you?"

"I made him piss himself."

In spite of herself and the situation, D burst into laughter. "Right on," she said.

"I don't think he'll do it, though. He agreed to my terms under duress." His perfect seriousness silenced her giggles. "I told my brother and his friend to watch him."

"What kind of friend are we talking about? Can he be trusted?"

"She."

"Oh."

"Yes. I'm almost sure of it."

"Okay."

He glanced down and asked, "What happened to your leg?"

"I got hit by a car." He gave her a strange look. "It's a funny looking carriage that you operate with a wheel."

"Oh."

"So, where you headed?"

"Back to my brother's place."

"Oh, I'm headed the opposite way, then, I think. It was nice talking to you."

"Very much agreed." They both went their separate ways.


	19. Takedown

Takedown

Victor rubbed his eyes as he hung his coat on the rack next to the door, and he walked deeper into the apartment. Gerhardt lay on the couch, still wide awake. "I thought before today you didn't watch your patients," he said, this time choosing Dutch.

"I don't," Victor replied. "I just knew someone was looking for him. I didn't know it was a problem until Red expressed concern."

"Ever the gentleman. That or you like her. Or both."

"We're just friends."

"For now."

Victor leaned over the top of the sofa, a change of subject already in mind. "You said on the way over here that you could feel magic?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Do you feel any different because of it?"

"Not normally." Victor nodded slowly. "Go to bed. You look like you're about to fall over on top of me." They laughed, and Victor stood and wakled into his bedroom. Gerhardt heard him collapse onto his bed and start to snore like a chainsaw. Must have been a rough day, he thought.

OUAT

Bae, Morraine, John, Alan, and Will sat around their cooking fire, now a bunch of smoldering embers. The carcasses of several rabbits lay in the dirt around them. John sucked the marrow out of a bone and tossed it aside. "Alright, you stopped him from being an idiot," he said. "Now what?"

"We still need to figure out what to do about Gisborne," Morraine replied. "The woman who brought us here also has fears about the tunnel she opened. It was plain on her face when the earth shook."

"But she opened it anyway," Will said, "and whatever she was afraid of didn't escape."

"But it could."

"Gisborne is the more immediate problem," John said. He regarded Bae and Morraine. "Between the two of you, you have one sensitive and two weapons, though you may only need one. Between the three of us, four weapons, one of which is close range. One sensitive and six weapons between all of us, and only one Gisborne, albeit a powerful one. We can deal with anything that might be in the tunnel later."

"You're going to send us off to die?" Bae asked. His long-ago conversation with his father about the Ogre Wars suddenly popped into his head.

"I wouldn't be putting us up to this if I wasn't reasonably sure we'd make it out."

"Us?" Morraine asked. "All five of us?"

John nodded. "All five of us."

"Wait...what are you doing?" Bae asked, tilting his head away from John and creasing his brow.

"Trying to come up with a feasible plan to finish this Gisborne business once and for all."

"You do realize this could be the death of all of us, right?"

"Yes, I do, laddie. You have no idea."

"Oh, I'm sure I do. In our land we have what's called the Ogre Wars. Do you know what an ogre is? It's a monstrous beast the size of a castle that hunts by sound and smell and will, if it ever finds you, kill you. Make no mistake."

"I'm trying not to, boy."

"We're not dealing with ogres," Morraine said. "We're dealing with a powerful man, but a man nonetheless. That means there's a way to kill him."

"It's been a pretty rough fight so far," Alan said.

"It can be done," she said. "It must be done. If we don't, who else will?" The three Merry Men looked at each other. "Exactly. Next question. When do we leave?"

"Don't you want to know the rest of the plan?" John asked.

"Alright. Let's hear it."

OUAT

Gerhardt found something dancing around at the edge of his awareness and recognized it at once. He looked up at the door, eased himself off the couch, and locked it. Then he turned to his brother's bedroom. He padded down the hall and eased the door open. Victor was sound asleep, so Gerhardt walked over and locked the window. Victor groaned something that sounded to Gerhardt's ears like, "No." He knelt by the bedside and whispered, "I have to. I have to keep you safe." Victor shifted position and then stirred into a state closer to wakefulness. "Stay in here." He stood and walked out of the room to the cooking area-it couldn't properly be called a kitchen-and he grabbed a knife out of the block. He turned to go back to Victor's side when a figure in black appeared before him. He cried out and shot back.

"Gerhardt?" Victor asked sleepily. Then, more alert, "Gerhardt?"

"Stay back there," Gerhardt said in German. The figure approached him, and he held the knife between them and wondered where to start to keep proper distance. By his reckoning, another sensitive was coming. Baelfire, he thought.

Gisborne lunged for him, and he dove back into the living room. Gisborne lunged again. Gerhardt back flipped onto the top of a bookcase, crouched in the space between it and the ceiling, and studied Gisborne, who studied him in turn. He spotted Victor in the doorway and snapped in German, "I told you to stay back there."

"When there's a fight going on in my living room? Have you run mad?" Victor shot back.

"I came back wrong."

"Who is this man?"

"His name is Gisborne, and he's about to kill us."

"What?"

"Let me demonstrate," Gisborne said in English, turning to Victor. Shit, Gisborne thought. He understands German. He dove on top of Gisborne as he advanced on Victor, landing on the man's back and gaining enough purchase to allow him to plunge the knife deep into the dark knight's eye. Gisborne scratched and clawed at Gerhardt the entire time and finally managed to throw him off his back just as the door was kicked open.

He propped himself up on his elbows and stared at the five people who'd just recently stumbled back from his unexpected appearance on the step. "Baelfire," he said, "and friends."

"What's going on?" the somewhat giant-like man asked as Bae helped Gerhardt to his feet.

"He's being attacked by Gisborne," Bae said.

"Speak of the devil," the one in scarlet muttered. Gisborne appeared in the doorway, the knife still stuck in his eye. Behind him one could find Victor, staring in awe and horror.

Gerhardt's senses buzzed, and he said, "Please tell me you have a magical weapon."

"Yes," the young woman said, drawing her sword.

Bae took hold of Gerhardt's upper arm and said, "We'll guide you."

The woman stepped between them and Gisborne, who tore the knife and his own eye out and tossed them both into the bushes, held the sword level with his heart with both hands, and said, "Alright. Tell me where to start."

Before the eyes of everyone, purple mist started to gather around the blade.

OUAT

Victor, at a complete and utter loss, ran back into his room, grabbed the gun he kept in the nightstand in case he was robbed for his rent or something like that, and returned to the living room. Nothing had changed in the short space of his absence. Someone called for arrows, and he heard the soft scrape of wood on wood that signaled that three arrows nocked in their bows. He thought it best to wait for the signal to fire to add his own contribution.

OUAT

"The heart," Bae said.

"So I wait for him to fall on it?" Morraine asked.

"Essentially," Gerhardt replied. "You may help if you wish."

"Draw," John yelled. He, Will, and Alan drew back, took aim, and fanned out. "If you're going to do something, do it now," he said to Bae.

"Waiting for your order," Morraine replied, not knowing she was also speaking for Victor, standing immediately behind Gisborne with his gun cocked, ready, and aimed directly at his head.

"Well, then. On my mark. Loose."

Morraine lunged at Gisborne, plunging the sword and the magic the sensitives drew to it deep into his chest. At the same time, three arrows found their marks in his head and neck, and a bullet tore a hole in the back of his skull. Morraine kicked him back, releasing the sword, and Gisborne fell onto the grass, eyes wide open and his last breaths leaving him in strangled gasps until finally he managed a sigh and simply stopped breathing.

Bae released Gerhardt, and both were overcome with dizziness, staggering away from each other. Morraine moved to Bae, and Victor jumped off the porch and caught his brother before he fell into the street and oncoming traffic. He pulled the unconscious Gerhardt into his arms and turned to the group. "Thank you," he said. "If you need a place to stay..."

"Actually," John said quickly, "we can't stay here long. Someone will ask questions, and we had the greater part in this." Victor nodded and carried his brother back into the apartment. Morraine supported Bae as she and the Merry Men led Bae back to the forest, where they were certain they'd be safe.


	20. Conversations

Conversations

Victor lay Gerhardt on the couch and leaned against the windowsill, staring out at the body in the yard. Finally he walked out and checked the man's pulse and breathing. He was certainly dead. Victor had played a part in a murder, though he honestly had no idea how big that part might be. He fished out his phone and did the only sensible thing he could: he called the Sheriff. He started to figure out how to put words to what he'd long considered impossible, and he waited for the authorities to arrive.

OUAT

"Tell me exactly what happened, Doctor Whale," Emma said. She was leaning on the table and trying to appear as compassionate as possible. Whale looked like he was falling apart at the seams.

He leaned forward, rubbed his eyes, and said, "My brother plunged a knife into the stranger's eye, but that didn't kill him. Instead, he continued advancing on Gerhardt and...and I think they were his new friends. He seemed to know them. They weren't here for me, at least. I didn't recognize them, and they didn't seem to recognize me. My brother and one of them were in close contact-he said he could feel magic, I don't know what that has to do with anything-they enchanted the sword the young woman was holding. It was covered in purple mist. I grabbed a gun I kept in my bedroom. I didn't know what else to do. Another of them called to arms. I decided to wait until he called to fire. The boy directed the young woman as to where to aim her weapon, and shortly thereafter came the call to fire. I shot. So did three others. The woman plunged the blade deep into the man's torso. There were three arrows, one in the head, two in the neck. My bullet wound in the back of his head was there, also. Five of us killed him, at least one used the ability to feel magic to help. That's all I know."

Emma nodded. "Thank you. That's all for right now." Whale stood and walked out of the interrogation room. Emma followed out to the waiting area, glanced at a notepad, and said, "Mr. Gerhardt Frankenstein," almost as if she were trying the name in her mouth.

A man with numerous sets of stitches and an extremely unhealthy complexion stood and approached her. Whale stopped him and gave a few encouraging words in Dutch. Gerhardt nodded and walked into the interrogation room. Emma closed the door behind them. "Please, have a seat," she said. Gerhardt sat and folded his hands on the table. His eyes were fixed on Emma as she walked over to the table and sat across from him. "Can you tell me about the man that died?"

"His name was Gisborne. He followed Baelfire and his friends from Sherwood Forest," Gerhardt said simply. Emma was struck by his slur but somehow not surprised "He felt like the devil. I wanted as little to do with him as possible from the moment I met him."

"Your brother said you could feel magic. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"So what you mean by 'he felt like the devil' is that he used black magic?"

"Yes, but it was more like that he was made of it."

"And he followed you from Sherwood Forest through your world to here."

"Yes."

"How...exactly...did you come to be involved with Baelfire?"

"He came to my world with his companions, the young woman and the three men. He said he wanted to get here, to Storybrooke, and when I first met him, he was angry because he had apparently failed yet again to attain his goal. I offered my services as a guide since he and his companions were new to the area, and he made the offer to come with him when he came here. Before that, though, Gisborne had found his way into the realm in which we were staying."

"Oh."

"I don't know very much, but Baelfire told me I'd prefer the legend of Robin Hood to the truth. I think he was right."

"Robin Hood?"

"The man himself came with Gisborne. They were working together."

"I think he was right too. Thank you, Mr. Frankenstein." Gerhardt stood and walked out of the room. Emma followed, but only to the point of her office, where she wrote down everything the brothers Frankenstein had told her. She remembered D's fears of something in the trods, and she chewed the cap of her pen. She wanted to hope that Gisborne was the last of their problems, but both cognitively and in her heart of hearts, she knew that wasn't true. She began the preliminary report.

OUAT

Bae walked into the pawn shop and eased the door behind him. The bell rang nonetheless, and Rumpelstiltskin looked up at him. "Hello, Bae," he said.

"Hello," Bae replied. He glanced at the ball on the counter and then looked back up at his father. "You kept that?"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "If you need it, I have a room ready for you."

Bae nodded and glacned around. "Is there somewhere where we can talk?"

"This way." Rumpelstiltskin led Bae into his back office and turned to face him. "Where do you want to start?"

Bae glanced at Rumpelstiltskin's hand. "Why didn't you use magic to heal that?"

Rumpelstiltskin turned his hand up to glance at the scratches for a moment, and then he said, "The thought didn't cross my mind. For once," he added with a smirk.

"Good first step," Bae said. His eyes were smiling, though the rest of his face betrayed no emotion. "You still destroyed the lives of everyone in this town, probably more than once. You still killed my mother and I have no idea how many others, not counting the people in the village whose deaths I saw. The power still changed you. You looked different, you acted different..." He sighed; he'd finally run out of words.

Rumpelstiltskin opened his mouth and then sighed and shook his head. He wanted to say that he was trying, but he had no idea how Bae would take it, so he simply said, "I'm so sorry." Bae nodded and extended his hand. Rumpelstiltskin shook it with the hand that Bae had injured. "Do you think you can forgive me?" he asked.

Bae smiled. "I think I'll get there."

"Thank you." Bae turned to leave. "I heard about the fiend." The boy stopped and looked over his shoulder. "That's a piece of work, as they say in this world."

"I can't take all the credit."

"It's impressive nonetheless."

Bae nodded. "Thanks."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled and watched his son leave. It could have been worse, but it was a lot better than he expected, especially considering their reunion. He decided to take it, and he went back to work.

OUAT

"Must've been a rough night," Red said as she approached Victor's table and set down his cup of coffee. "This is your fifth double in half an hour."

"Will you sit with me?" Victor asked.

"Sure." Red sat across the booth from him and folded her hands on the table. "What's up?"

"My brother and his new friends fought off some random evil dude with magic." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It's never gonna leave me alone."

"Maybe that's a good thing." He looked up at her. "You said you needed a magic heart to bring your brother back to life?"

"Yes."

She leaned forward. "Magic and science don't have to disagree with each other." He leaned back, and his hands fell into his lap. She smirked. "Looks like I blew your mind, and I didn't need to use my body to do it."

He laughed, but only briefly before looking down at his coffee. "I'm sorry for how I acted to you while we were cursed."

"We were cursed. Don't worry about it."

He looked up at her again. "It's not exactly the greatest first impression."

"Like I said, Regina gave us a chance to start over."

"Red," Granny called.

"Sorry. Gotta go. Enjoy your coffee." She fled the booth like she was shot from a gun, and Victor couldn't help but stare after her and ponder her words.


	21. Something Must Be Done

Something Must Be Done

D paced back and forth across August's room, with both August and Peter watching intently. The three of them had been at this ever since day broke, and her thoughts had throughout the session been consumed by Greg and Alice Mendell. She'd heard Gerhardt had been persuasive, but she knew Greg wasn't going to give up. Alice was from somewhere else and viewed marriage entirely differently than D ever did. There was no doubt in her mind that Alice would stand by her man. If he could be convinced to call her off, and that was a very big if, then she would definitely back down. Only problem was, Greg Mendell didn't know the meaning of 'back down'.

Drastic action had to be taken, and the entire town faced a very big decision: could they compromise their secret even if it meant allowing the one who could expose it to live?

Typically she had no heavy moral questions about her work. She knew helping refugees and exiles settle in on Earth or find other places to go was right, and she didn't care how many enemies she made in how many ruling governments. That was her job, plain and simple, and she would do it. Now, though, there was a serious problem. Here was a town that resembled a cage. Anyone could come and look, but the residents couldn't leave. They couldn't be kept here, on that she was certain.

The Barrier had to be broken, but how? Rumpelstiltskin said there was a way and implied that it would kill him. She turned to August and asked, "Where does Rumpelstiltskin get his power from?"

"Uh...the knife?" he asked in reply. "I think so, at least."

"Dammit. If he gets his power from the knife, and his power is how he created the curse, then if he breaks it to free the town, he really could die."

"Score one," Peter said.

"What're you talking about?"

"I was wondering when you'd figure that out."

"Coming from the eternal elfin boy who never had a problem like this in his entire life."

August held up his hands and said, "Enough. It's obvious we have a problem, so we have to stop picking fights and start dealing with it. Where are we on that?"

"All I know is that Gerhardt chased Mendell down and 'talked' to him," D replied. "Neither of us have any idea if it'll work."

"Who's Gerhardt?" he and Peter asked.

"The stitched-up dead guy."

"Oh," August said.

"What?" Peter asked.

"Long story," D replied. "I don't even know it, but I'm afraid I can guess, considering the world he comes from."

"What world is that?"

"A Land Without Color. Shitty name for it, I know, but that's what the higher-ups came up with."

"Wait, you actually take orders from people?"

"They're more like general guidelines, but basically."

"So Gerhardt talked to Greg and there's a chance he got him to agree to the terms?" August asked.

"Yes," D replied.

"And if he doesn't?"

"That's where I'm at, and that's the great moral quandary of the town. Do we let this guy live to tell their secret to God and the free world, or do we kill him? It's obvious that if word gets out, the town will be flooded with tourists and curiosity seekers, or buses of Fundies screaming at these people that they'll all go to hell, each and every one of them. Neither does wonders for morale. Throw into all of this our job, and you get a complete and utter mess that I can't make sense out of."

"Maybe he'll get himself into a fight or something and we'll have to kill him. Solves all of your problems," Peter said.

"You shut up," D snapped at him, gesturing with one of her crutches. She turned back to August and said, "Don't tell me you want to go with his solution."

"No," August said. "Of course not. It's too damned stupid, and we don't even know if it'll work. Fights are too unpredictable."

She exhaled and relaxed against her crutches. "You had me scared for a second." She shifted her position. "But we can't just sit back and do nothing. These people are trapped, and they need people like us. We have to do our jobs. We just need to figure out how."

"How about you take a break, get some rest. I'll get to work."

"Okay, but let me know if you come up with anything, or if anything goes wrong."

"I will."

OUAT

Morraine slid deftly from the rock she was perched on, and she stood in front of Bae. "It looks like it went better than last time," she said. He nodded. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he replied. "It's just...weird, considering...everything that's happened."

"Because you can feel magic?"

"And I've been in several fights, with magical opponents, and survived. This all happened because he wanted to protect me from going off to war, because he wanted to prove to me that he wasn't a coward, but he couldn't, because he was."

"Do you still think he is?"

"Too much has happened. I have no idea anymore."

"Gisborne is dead. Now we can start dealing with things like this. Tell me what you're feeling."

"I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm angry at my father, but at the same time, I'm glad he's starting over, using magic less. It doesn't change all the things he's done, but it's a start. I won't deny that."

"That's good. It's not the best, but it's good." He nodded, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I told you everything would work out, did I not?"

"I believe so."

"You see, things are looking up." She turned her gaze skyward, and he did the same. His breath caught. He wasn't sure if it was his sensitivity, amplified by his recent prolonged contact with Gerhardt, that was causing this, but he saw it nonetheless, and he suddenly realized exactly what was going on. There was a blue dome overhead. It swirled within itself and was for the most part was translucent, except the parts where it was almost solid blue.

"Are you seeing this?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not, but I'll take your word for it." She looked at him. "Is it bad?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, what is it?"

"It's what's keeping people here."

"What else is it? A Barrier?"

"Yes." He looked back at her. "It erases their memories if they try to cross, but outsiders can come and go as they choose."

"Can it be broken?"

"Yes, I think so, but...but it has to be Rumpelstiltskin, since he made this."

"Do you think he will?" Bae shrugged. "Alright, is there a way around it?"

"There'd be the tunnels, but those are too dangerous, especially if that woman's right and there is something in there that could be let loose on us at any moment."

"So our only safe option is to break it."

"Seems that way, yes."

"Then it looks like we need to be on hand while this unfolds. Someone, somewhere, will need soldiers." Bae nodded, and on a whim, he kissed her.

"Thank you," he whispered, "for everything."

"Anytime," she replied. "Let's go."


	22. Alice

Alice

Red walked into the hospital and set two coffees on the desk as Victor straightened up in his chair. "Coffees six and seven," she said.

"Thank you," he replied, his shoulders sagging with relief. He took a coffee and started chugging it. When he finished, he crumpled the Styrofoam cup and started on the next one.

"Good God, Victor. How much coffee do you need?" Red asked jokingly.

He finished the second coffee, threw the cup away and said, "What I really need is sleep."

"Can't you take time off?"

"I'm not supposed to examine the body, but they want me on hand anyway, and the Charming family is getting into one of their debates about what to do with it, afraid it'll jeopardize the town by its very presence. As if Mr. Mendell isn't enough."

"Well, since you're not allowed to examine the body, do you want to talk some more while we wait?"

"Of course." They walked back to his office, and she took a seat on the sofa. he sat on the chair at his desk, crossed his legs, and leaned back. "I haven't had much time, but when I did, I thought about what you said, especially about starting over. Magic and science was a bit too heady for me today." He made a nervous chuckle, and she smiled. "If you'll let me, I'd like the chance to start over with you."

"What do you call that night on the pier?"

"Oh."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm glad you're taking your chance."

"I'm trying to."

"That's good."

Victor studied Red for a second and then said, "You know, the first color I ever saw was red."

"What kind of world are you from?" she asked, smirking and putting on a face of disbelief at the same time.

"It's a lot like here, but it's black and white and always storming, or I always thought it stormed. Lightning every night."

"You're serious?"

"I'm serious."

"Was Rumpelstiltskin wearing red or something?"

"A red cloak."

"Oh." She smiled. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Does he always dress that strangely?"

"He used to, before the curse, or so I heard."

"So he's famous...in your land."

"Infamous, more like, but yeah. I think you get the idea." Victor nodded, and Red asked, "Was color strange to get used to, if your land was made of black and white?"

"Actually at first it was jarring, but I'm surprised at how quickly I got used to it."

"Cool."

He smiled. "I like it."

She laughed and glanced down. When she looked up again, she asked, "Do you think I'll like your land?"

"Maybe. I could show you around, if you like. If we ever get the chance, of course."

"I think that'd be fun."

He cracked a smile, and the phone on his desk beeped. A voice asked, "Dr. Whale?"

"Yes?" he replied, leaning forward.

"There's a Mrs. Mendell here. She wants to check her husband out and return him to her care."

"I'll be right out." He hung up and looked at Red. "It's Alice."

"What do we do?" she asked.

"I'll allow Mr. Mendell to be checked out-I have no reason to keep him here-but I'll refer the couple to the Bed and Breakfast. I trust there you or someone we can trust will keep an eye on them."

"If I'm not gonna be here to talk to, do you at least want some more coffee?"

"Just don't slip me anything. I don't want to be Mickie Finn'd or anything."

She laughed. "Come on, you trust me, don't you?"

He stood and walked to the door. "I guess I'd better not keep her waiting." He faced her again and added with perfect seriousness, "Yes, I trust you." He turned and walked out of the office.

OUAT

D glanced at the title of the paper and returned to the section she was reading. Besides herself, the only other soul she'd seen out and about was an elderly woman who introduced herself as Widow Lucas, and by then it was ten thirty at night. Then the Mendells walked in with someone she vaguely recognized. The strange woman walked over to her and asked in a whisper, "Do you know those two?"

"Yep," D replied.

"Do you side with them?" D looked up, momentarily surprised. She started to laugh, but she calmed herself down as soon as she realized the other woman was serious. "Takin' that as a no. Can you help me watch them?"

"The Mendells? Hell, I'll bug them, stalk them, cyber-stalk them, whatever you want. All for free."

She smiled. "Thank you."

D smiled in return. "I never did get your name."

"Red."

"Little Red Riding Hood?"

"And the werewolf."

"No surprise there."

"Who are you?"

"D. D Gale, from Kansas."

Red extended her hand, and D shook it. "Thanks again."

"Sure thing."

"Excuse me," Alice said. "Could you show us to our room."

"Yes, of course," Red replied. "This way, please," she said to the Mendells. Greg and Alice nodded. D mentally crossed her fingers behind her back. They ascended the stairs with D following by leaning on the guard rail instead of the crutches. Alice glanced at Greg, who nodded, and she slipped a metal bar out of her sleeve, and D grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and slammed her into the wall. Greg grabbed the fallen metal bar and struck D in the head with it. She tumbled end over end down the stairs. "D," Red called, pushing her way toward the fallen outsider.

Greg turned to her and moved to hit her across the head, as well. Red grabbed the bar, wrenched it out of his hand, pushed him aside and ran down the stairs to where D had fallen. "D, come on, talk to me." She started to shake but remembered Victor advising against it. "Granny," she called over her shoulder. When she looked back again, Greg was coming at her. She gripped the bar even tighter and moved from a squat to a fighting crouch. She looked from D to Greg and back and forth several times.

"She shouldn't have gotten in the way," Greg said.

Granny appeared behind Red, loaded crossbow in hand. "Red, call the cops. Call Whale. Call somebody," she said. "I'll handle this."

Red fished out her phone and called Victor's number. "Yes?" he said.

"Doctor, I've got a problem," Red replied.

"What sort of problem?"

"It's this girl from Kansas, the one with the broken leg."

"Ah, Miss Gale. Do tell me what happened to her."

"Alice pushed her down the stairs. She's unconscious."

"I'm on my way." Red hung up and returned her phone to her pocket. She relayed Victor's words to Granny and looked at Greg and Alice, now standing side by side.

"Is there even a doctor in this town?" Alice asked. "Oh, shit, there is." Red dove for Alice, ready to knock her unconscious or beat her out of her misery, whichever came last. Greg punched her, and she struck him with the crowbar. He came at her again, and Granny fired. Red turned and used Greg as a human shield. The arrow landed in his side, in his lower torso. She hoped it wasn't fatal as she turned to Alice and bashed her face with the metal bar. Alice staggered to the other wall, a hand on her temple. Red couldn't help shooting a glance at the door. Alice clocked her in the nose, and Red responded with a bite faster than Alice could pull back. "Ow, what the hell, bitch?"

"You're damn right," Red replied.

"Honestly, I think she much prefers werewolf," Victor said from the foot of the stairs. He squatted beside D, his elbows resting on his knees. He stood and walked around the medics surrounding her. "She did eat her boyfriend. I'm not sure you want to pick a fight with her. I'd be careful if I were you."

"That a threat?" Alice asked.

"Here's a threat, missy," Red snapped. "Come near any of us again and I'll gut you alive. That goes double for him," she gestured to the doctor, "and me," she gestured to herself. "Got it?" Alice nodded, and Red turned to Greg. "Same goes for you, buster." Greg nodded more vigorously than his wife and started to back up the stairs, one hand in the air in a gesture of surrender and the other over his wound. Red nodded approvingly and turned to Victor. "Take care of her, alright?"

"I will," Victor replied. He turned back to the medics, who'd strapped D to a gurney, and asked after her.

"She'll be fine," a nurse said.

"Excellent."

Red turned to the stairway to find that Alice were already at the head of the stairs. She barked, watched for her reaction, and walked back down the stairs. "Not bad," Granny said to her.

"Thanks," Red replied.

"I'll still watch that young fellow, though."

"I know. I know."


	23. The Gears in Motion

The Gears in Motion

"How is she?" Red asked as soon as Victor walked out of the room.

"She'll be perfectly fine. She just needs her rest," Victor replied.

"And Greg?"

"He'll also be fine."

"I can't tell if that's good or bad."

"Me, either. I'll keep track of him."

"And I'll keep track of Alice." He extended his hand to shake, and she did. They paused for a moment, and she smiled. A moment later, he did, too. "We can do this, Victor. We can save the town and keep everyone alive. Everything will work out just fine."

Victor's smile softened at her assurance. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"I happen to find your words soothing. It's been a nerve-wracking thirty-six hours." She chuckled, and they started walking down the hall side by side. On impulse, she reached for his hand. He started and jerked away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, drifting to the side.

"Hey," he replied, reaching out for her. Her hand slid easily into his, and they drifted closer to each other. Their fingers laced together. "Monster to monster."

She nodded. "Monster to monster." She didn't know it, but he noticed that her voice wavered slightly.

OUAT

"You saw it?" John asked. He seemed to have completely forgotten about the rabbit leg in his hand. "You saw the Barrier?"

"For a moment," Bae replied, "after being in contact with Gerhardt, and you saw what we can do together. The magic here is also different than in the Enchanted Forest."

"You think that's involved, too?"

"I honestly have no idea what's going on, and I'm trying to figure it out."

"There's nothin' wrong with that. The entire thing's just plain weird."

"We think so, too," Morraine said. She poked at the fire and looked up at the three Merry Men. "This town is just as trapped as you were in Sherwood, as we were in Neverland."

"There's a way out," Bae said, "but since Rumpelstiltskin cast the curse that created the Barrier, it can only be broken by his death or the destruction of..." he caught himself, but he'd already captured the attention of the Merry Men. He sighed and said, "the knife. Even then, that could kill him."

"Why do you care so much?" John asked.

"Because he's my father," Bae said with more force than he intended. John leaned back, eyes wide. "He's my father, for all his faults and weaknesses as well as for all his strengths and best qualities." In a smaller voice, he said, "Besides, I just got him back. I don't want to lose him again."

"Well, lad, it sounds an awful lot like you might have to."

"Really?" Morraine asked. "Do you really need to do this right now? You know what? I have no words for you right now, so do us all a favor and drop the subject, alright?" John settled back a little bit and said nothing. "Thank you."

"There's still gonna be an inquest into Gisborne's death," Alan said. "Not only here, but back in Nottingham, as well."

"Screw Nottingham," John said sharply. "As long as we're here, what goes on here is our immediate focus."

"If we ever go back, though... Look, we're outlaws. We're going to be the first ones they look at."

"If they ever catch us," Bae said.

Will laughed. "That's true."

John shrugged. "I've yet to see a lawman that can catch a Merry Man," he added. "King's finest. Pah!" This elicited a laugh from everyone around the fire.

"But we're here," Bae said when he recovered himself. "We're here, and we have this world's system and problems to deal with. Gisborne is dead, so all that's left is the Barrier. And the thing in the tunnels, if it comes after us."

"And if it doesn't?" Will asked.

"Then we don't have to worry about it," Morraine said. "But until we're sure that's the case, we have to keep it in mind."

"If it does and we can't fight it?"

"Then we're all going to die."

"For now, let's focus on the Barrier," Bae said. "I'll talk to my father about it. I want to see what he knows and what he's willing to do."

"I'll go with you," Morraine said. "If anything changes, we'll signal using a flaming arrow."

"Just when I thought destroying those things was over." Again, the group laughed. "Alright," he said, but as soon as he spoke, he felt something change.

OUAT

Gerhardt started and stood. He first checked his brother's room, which was still empty. Then he grabbed his brother's gun, cocked it, and walked out the front door.

OUAT

D started awake and looked around. She wasn't restrained, but the room she found herself in was oppressive nonetheless. She got out of bed and hopped to the door, which she wrenched open. A pair of crutches was waiting for her as soon as she reached the first stage of her freedom, and standing before them were the brothers Frankenstein and Red. "He told us," she said, gesturing to Gerhardt.

"You're concussed," Victor said, "so be careful." He turned to his brother and said something in either German or Dutch, or a blend of both. Gerhardt nodded.

"I will," D said.

"You keep my brother safe," Gerhardt said to Red.

"I will," Red replied. "Good luck."

"Thanks." D took up the crutches and followed Gerhardt down the hall.

"Annie get your gun," Victor said to Red. "Looks like a fight tonight."

"Better go while we can still get some good seats," Red replied jokingly.


	24. At the Town Line

At the Town Line

Alice had spotted her mark shortly after Red and the medics had carted D off, but by necessity, she needed to take the witness, too. Greg couldn't continue their work, so she had to. She pressed heavily perfumed cloths to the faces of both the puppet man and the ten-year-old, waited until their sleep deepened, and she began carting them off to her car. This would be the proof she and Greg desperately sought for their benefactor. Finally things were falling into place.

She just had to pull this off without tipping off the sensitives.

OUAT

Morraine pulled Bae behind a tree. They were close to the road now, which bore a red line that matched up with a sign. This must have signaled the town line, though what purpose it originally served was anyone's guess. As they continued to survey the area, Bae realized why Morraine had pulled him behind a tree. A strange vehicle was careening toward the line. Several others followed it. Morraine threw the sword, which crashed through the window. The driver ducked and swerved, striking the sign and coming to a stop. The other vehicles soon stopped, too.

Bae recognized among the people gathering at the line Gerhardt. He also recognized the woman on crutches, but he didn't recall her name. "Okay, go," Morraine said. They emerged from behind the tree, to the surprise of almost everyone there. "Who's in there?" Morraine asked, gesturing to the crashed vehicle.

"A live puppet and an elfin boy," the woman on crutches replied. This statement only seemed to surprise Gerhardt. She made her way over to the trunk and popped it open. Morraine walked around the car and retrieved her sword. The driver, a woman with freakishly yellow hair, looked shell-shocked.

Out of the trunk climbed, bound and gagged, a live puppet and Peter Pan. Bae couldn't help but pause.

The woman wrenched the sword out of Morraine's hand and lunged at her. Morraine jumped back, but her mind instantly went back to the Sheriff of Nottingman, in Nottingham proper, holding Alan a-Dale at the point of the blade. Her blade. She raised her hand. It jerked in the woman's hand, but she held fast.

Gerhardt and D untied August and Peter Pan, and D looked up at the struggle of wills that Alice and the young woman engaged in. Finally, the young woman tore the sword out of Alice's hand, and about then Gerhardt and D had finished untying the two hostages. "Get to town," D said. "Get help. We can still get her."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked.

"We have no choice. You guys, you're lucky. If it was somebody else, if it's somebody who was sent here..."

"We better go," August said. Peter looked at him.

D said, "He's right." She nodded and turned to Alice and the young woman. The boy behind them had nocked an arrow and was watching the situation closely.

Morraine sank a little into her stance and watched Alice. "What're you going to do now? You're alone and unarmed, and if you're looking at forcing someone to leave when they're not supposed to, then good luck with that. So far as I can tell, you're trapped."

"What do you know of me?" the woman replied.

"Only what I see in front of me, but I see a great deal."

The woman lunged at Morraine, and Bae fired. The arrow found its mark in her shoulder, and she fell back and glared at him. "If you think she's the least of your problems, you're right," he said, drawing another arrow. She merely glared, her hand on the wound.

Other people started showing up. Small town, D thought, turning to face them. "D," Emma said, getting out of the car. "What's going on?"

"Attempted kidnapping," D replied, glancing at Alice.

"Yeah, August called. Here I was thinking he turned into wood."

"He did."

"Magic brought him back?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll think about it later. Who's the kid?"

"Peter Pan," the boy said.

"So far everything's relatively under control," D said, ignoring him. "Alice needs a doctor and then a jail cell. Doctor first, of course."

"You think this is funny?" Alice snapped. "You think this is funny, bitch?" She lunged at D, who struck her across the temple with a crutch. Gerhardt glanced at the gun in his hand.

"Hang tight," D said to him. Alice staggered to the side. She'd torn the arrow from her shoulder and was now ready to use it as a weapon against them. D balanced on a crutch and her good leg, and she turned the other crutch to use as a weapon.

"What's everyone in this town got against me?" Alice asked, shaking her head. Her eyes had taken on something of a raving quality that really set D on edge. "I didn't do anything bad." Now she started to sound like a child.

Gerhardt blinked. This was the girl that disappeared from his land all those years ago. This was one of his and Victor's childhood friends. "Is there anyone in this town that can help her?" he asked on a whim.

"Help her how?" Emma asked.

"Psychologically."

"I think our shrink needs a shrink, being kidnapped by Cora and all."

"I'm perfectly fine," Alice raged. "I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy." She lunged forward. D caught her with the shoulder pad of her crutch, but she was shoved aside into a car.

Bae turned to the woman who was assaulting the other woman on crutches, and he drew again. "Let her go," he said.

Morraine stepped up to his side. "Do you want both of us on you at once?" she asked.

Alice looked up, and D steadied herself against the car, fighting off a wave of dizziness and remembering the doctor's words. She leaned to one side, fought off the urge to put weight on her bad leg, and tried to focus on Alice, predict her next move.

She never would've predicted her pulling out a knife and throwing it right over her head, right at the young archer.

OUAT

When Rumpelstiltskin appeared that night amid the crowd and the fight, he knew he could just as easily have cast a spell on the woman, but the only thing he did was pluck the knife out of thin air and examine it while the crowd stared at him in awe. "You know," he said, looking at the woman who threw it. "You've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble." He turned and threw the knife into the dirt. "I think I'll let the sheriff sort this one out, though. Have a nice evening." He started to walk back toward Storybrooke proper.

"Wait, you are Rumpelstiltskin, right?" Morraine asked, approaching him.

"Last time I checked. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest." He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Bae and Morraine looked at each other.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"I think he's getting better, finding himself again," he replied. She nodded, but to him she looked uncertain. "We should probably go." He glanced at the blonde woman who was handcuffing the crazy one. "It looks like everything here is under control, for the most part." She nodded again, and while everyone's attention was on the woman on crutches and the woman they arrested, they slipped back into the forest.


	25. The End is Only the Beginning

The End is Only the Beginning

When day broke, Bae slipped back into Storybrooke alone. He walked up to the pawn shop and waited a moment, watching Rumpelstiltskin unlock the door, before asking, "How did you know?"

He looked up at Bae. "How did I know?"

"About what was going on at the town line, at the Barrier. How did you know? More importantly, why did you come?"

"Bae, one of the greatest curses of my power is that I know everything." He opened the door and allowed Bae entry. "I knew there was an attempt to take someone across the line, and I knew there was a reasonably good chance there would be an attempt on your life."

"You turned a man into a snail because I scraped my knee. How do you expect me to believe you just plucked a knife out of thin air and walked away? I know you feel remorse for your actions, but I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me if I can't reconcile what I've seen with what I've heard and what I know."

"I know how you feel about magic, Bae."

"Next question. Are you doing this for me or...or for you?"

"I honestly have no idea anymore."

"I guess I should let you soul search or something, then."

"Bae, thank you. Thank you for being something I could never have hoped for. Thank you for being my son."

"You're my father," Bae said simply. Rumpelstiltskin smiled, his eyes starting to fill with tears. Bae smiled in return and threw his arms around his father's neck. After a moment, Rumpelstiltskin returned the embrace.

OUAT

Alice stared at the wall of the cell in the sheriff's office, wondering when her torment would be over. So far no one was there. There was probably chaos that needed to be contained or something. She sighed and tried to work out exactly how she was going to get out of here and get to her husband.

"Excuse me," a woman said, appearing in the office and approaching the cell. "Are you Alice Mendell?"

"Y-yes," she replied, standing. "Who're you?"

"I can get you what you want. I can help you prove that magic is real to the rest of the world, and more importantly, I can tear down the Barrier and open the floodgates. This world will never be the same again."

"Why are you here?"

"I want change just as much as you do. Work with me?"

"I'm sorry," Alice said, "but I'm sworn to someone else."

She was sworn to a woman in her dreams, who wore a pink dress and who allowed Alice to call her queen, but she would never let a stranger know that, especially not this woman. 


End file.
